Monday 9 February 2009

If you love them, let them go

This news story snagged my attention. Caterpillars have learned to mimic queen ants so they can nest and be nurtured in ant colonies, receiving preferential treatment over actual ants and generally lording it up in the colony until such time as they're ready to take flight. This beats the old cuckoo in the nest any day of the week. I wonder how the Queen Ant feels when her 'baby' flies the nest? Bewildered, much?

5 comments:

Gay Degani said...

I love these kinds of stories!! Now how to use it...

Sarah Hilary said...

My thoughts exactly!

Group 8 said...

It sounds like the time when I was a kid and my friend came back from abroad (where she had moved to) and stayed with us for a few weeks. The preferential treatment, the attention. She was a bloody caterpillar, that one, and no doubt...

Sarah Hilary said...

Ah, WRW, but did she turn into a butterfly?

Group 8 said...

She sure did, the wench. Physically at least: 6ft and blonde. Gah! We've lost touch...