Ant colony discovered in an abandoned Polish nuclear weapons bunker • Hacker News Board

Re: Ant colony discovered in an abandoned Polish nuclear weapons bunker

#51

Post by elihu » Fri, Sep 02, 2016, 7:50 PM UTC

It's interesting that given the collective problem solving skills of ants, that they are apparently unable to figure out not to fall into a hole.

I wonder if they just fall through by random chance, or if there was some ant at some point that left a "hey guys, there's food down here" pheromone trail, and all the ants that came after just reinforced it into an ant super-highway. If no one ever comes back to say "actually, there isn't any food down there, just an inescapable pit", then I guess ant logic says there must still be something good down there.

Re: Ant colony discovered in an abandoned Polish nuclear weapons bunker

#52

Post by sammydavis » Fri, Sep 02, 2016, 8:17 PM UTC

earlyriser wrote: post #10

It's almost poetic how from the ruins of the collapsed human socialist era, other species are creating a truly communist colony.

Ha, the queen doesn't see it that way.

Re: Ant colony discovered in an abandoned Polish nuclear weapons bunker

#53

Post by javajosh » Fri, Sep 02, 2016, 8:18 PM UTC

If the ants have nothing to eat, and they don't have a queen to breed with, then what do the workers work at, exactly? Do they all just convert to scouts, spend their lives looking for food that doesn't exist, and die?

Re: Ant colony discovered in an abandoned Polish nuclear weapons bunker

#54

Post by throwanem » Fri, Sep 02, 2016, 8:19 PM UTC

sammydavis wrote: post #52

earlyriser wrote: post #10

It's almost poetic how from the ruins of the collapsed human socialist era, other species are creating a truly communist colony.

Ha, the queen doesn't see it that way.

They have no queen.

Re: Ant colony discovered in an abandoned Polish nuclear weapons bunker

#55

Post by throwanem » Fri, Sep 02, 2016, 8:20 PM UTC

macintux wrote: post #45

Can't believe I'm the first person in this comment stream to say it, but: doesn't this piece feel like a real-world Dwarf Fortress?

Not enough !!lava!!.

Re: Ant colony discovered in an abandoned Polish nuclear weapons bunker

#56

Post by gumby » Fri, Sep 02, 2016, 8:28 PM UTC

sammydavis wrote: post #52

earlyriser wrote: post #10

It's almost poetic how from the ruins of the collapsed human socialist era, other species are creating a truly communist colony.

Ha, the queen doesn't see it that way.

Well the queen isn't really the top of the hierarchy as she would be in a human colony. She's simply one who has a particular job (reproduction) and thus greater needs. Not really any different from any of the other ants.

Re: Ant colony discovered in an abandoned Polish nuclear weapons bunker

#57

Post by sanqui » Fri, Sep 02, 2016, 8:41 PM UTC

This is probably the only article where I thought the photos would be better off as gifs.

Re: Ant colony discovered in an abandoned Polish nuclear weapons bunker

#58

Post by j1vms » Fri, Sep 02, 2016, 8:46 PM UTC

Actually, two ants have escaped the pit by climbing out.

One was only but a child ant. The other, much later, had its back broken before being thrown into the pit. That ant eventually healed and it too amassed the willpower to climb out.

Re: Ant colony discovered in an abandoned Polish nuclear weapons bunker

#59

Post by aneidon » Fri, Sep 02, 2016, 8:46 PM UTC

mariusz79 wrote: post #20

ph0rque wrote: post #8

It's possible they have figured out how to eat the creatures who feast in their cemeteries, essentially making them cannibals at one remove. In that case, all living things are cannibals at several removes: animals -> decomposing bacteria -> plants -> animals

Yeah. Like I'm a second-hand vegan. I eat animals that eat plants :)

reminds me of Erlich Bachman in Silicon Valley, who is a pesca-pescatarian. "I only eat fish that eats other fish"

Re: Ant colony discovered in an abandoned Polish nuclear weapons bunker

#60

Post by ethbro » Fri, Sep 02, 2016, 8:49 PM UTC

elihu wrote: post #51

It's interesting that given the collective problem solving skills of ants, that they are apparently unable to figure out not to fall into a hole. I wonder if they just fall through by random chance, or if there was some ant at some point that left a "hey guys, there's food down here" pheromone trail, and all the ants that came after just reinforced it into an ant super-highway. If no one ever comes back to say "actua…

If everyone who falls down into the hole is never heard from again, would they even be conscious of the hole?

My understanding of ants is limited, but as far as I know most of their communication is scent or contact-based, neither of which could provide communication past that first step. As far as they're concerned, it's effectively a black hole...