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A Columbia County Boy's Recollections and Memories of Columbia County Florida (2012) Lenvil H. Dicks
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Another thing I remember doing during my 7 grade year was in connection with a Science project. I
selected as my project a study of the nesting habits, and raising their young oflarge red ants, which are
commonly known in North Florida as P—ants. These ants are about an inch long, and their nests are
visible from at least 50 yards away, becatise they bring up yellow dirt from deep below the surface, and
spread it out in about a one and half foot circle. Lord help you if you get stung by one of those ants.
My project was to take a half gallon glass jar and fill it approximately two thirds full with the dirt that
surrounded their nests and then take a tablespoon and capture as many of the ants as I could, and put
them into the jar. It was the intent to see if they would reconstruct their nest, and raise their young in the
jar.
Well after collecting the dirt and as many of the ants as 1 could recover, on the way back to the house I
ran across another p— ant nest, and 1 was not satisfied with the number of ants that I had placed in the
jar from the first nest. Therefore, I took my tablespoon and captured as many more ants from this new
nest as I could, and also put them in the jar.
Unexpectedly and amazingly, when I got to school with my ant project the next day, there was not a
single ant alive in that jar, even though I had punched many holes in the lid with a nail in order that they
would get air. What had happened was that the ants from the two different nests went to war with each
other, and killed each other off to the very last ant. There was not one ant left living in the colony 1 had
put in the jar.
I do not know what use that knowledge has ever been to me, but it is one of the things I have
remembered all these years, and probably won’t ever forget.
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