A letter to Gilbert White

Letter to Gilbert White, 11 August 2017

Dear Sir,

I have observed of late a column of ants on the low wall which bounds my terrace. They form a black band which contrasts starkly with the white paint of the wall. At one end of the terrace they disappear into my neighbour’s garden.  At the other end they come marching from under the tiles of a porch in my garden, where they have a nest. These tiny workers start when the shade falls over their path in the afternoon and continue their activity without respite until the late evening.

They seem to work without any break at all with no rest or refreshment. As the Book of Proverbs so aptly advises us,   “Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.”

The ants move in both directions, so they are repeatedly meeting each other.  I have noted that they make no effort to avoid those coming from the opposite end.  On the contrary, they seem to collide intentionally before moving to one side and continuing on their journey.  Perhaps in this way they exchange some information as to the hazards of the path ahead or the whereabouts of the food they have to collect.  Certainly so intelligent a creature could avoid these collisions with his fellow workers if he so wished.

Virgil must have enjoyed watching these creatures for he describes them in his ‘Aeneid’.

Pars grandia trudunt

obnixae frumenta umeris; pars agmina cogunt

castigantque moras;  opera omnis semita fervet.

Some struggle to push

enormous grains of corn with their shoulders; some marshal the ranks

and punish the slackers;  the whole path seethes with activity.

‘Aeneid’ Book IV, lines 405-407

However, I have not noticed any of the ants in my garden marshalling the rest of the line.  They all appear to be in constant movement, and none of them step aside to control their fellows. Were the ants of Rome 2,000 years ago more organised than those of the island of Mallorca today?

Last year I went out to the terrace on Christmas morning.  The air was cold, and there was a grey sky, yet one ant, all alone, was on the same path as thousands of his fellows had swarmed over in the summer.  There were no other ants to encourage or direct him.  He met none who could give him instructions or help for there were no other ants in sight.  I do not know why this one ant felt obliged to continue with the summer ritual, yet on he went, very slowly advancing, painfully it seemed, and with many stops, along the same track that had been so busy with activity and so easy to follow a few months before.

Yesterday I had occasion to chip away some loose plaster on the wall which forms the route taken by the ants, as this is shortly to be repainted.  This minor alteration must have been a major cataclysm to the ants as they watched the destruction of their path. As they came to the obstacle they stopped and huddled together in an ever-increasing group as if conferring how best to tackle the problem so unexpectedly confronting them.  Then one, then another and finally many more found a way around the part of the wall that I had chipped away.

I will continue to observe the movements of these busy creatures, which is not a difficult task as the little wall where they make their way is part of this terrace where I while away the summer evenings.   I will send you further information about their comings and goings if I feel it to be worthy of comment.

Yours sincerely,

Roy Pearse