It has beeen asked what Raymus’ explosives would be made from. The answer is not too far-fetched. Bombardier Beetles have some pretty volatile fluids in chambers located within their abdomen. When these two fluids are mixed together, they reach boiling heat and explode from the body. This is used as a defense mechanism to ward off any attackers, the explosion does actually get very hot, and makes a popping sound during eruption.

Raymus’ explosives utilize these fluids, and to shards of stone to create a spark. The spark ignites the combustible fluids and creates a much more dazzling, and destructive display. The same fluids are also used in Raymus’ gun.
What makes Flanged Bombardier Beetles even more interesting is their oddly shaped antennae. The antennae become large, and strange looking, but they also secrete a sweet fluid which is readily consumed by ants and their larvae. No one is sure as to why the ants are so favourable of this fluid, but the bigger question is…where is the insect addictions counselour?

Ant colonies form some of the most complex societies on earth. Some myrmecologists suggest that ant colonies could be considered a super organism in which individual ants make up the individual “cells”, all working together performing specialized tasks for the benefit of the whole.

Ants are born into one of three castes all with a specialized and important task required of them within the community. The worker caste are just that, the peasant class that performs most of the day to day operations of the colony. The soldier caste are bred to be the army and police force of the superorganism, acting as an immune system would. Lastly we have reproductives that are in most cases winged and are capable of starting a new colony or breeding immediately to supplment a growing colony in the case of some ant species.

Aside from supporting their own needs, ants are more like humans than say Termites as they also have mutualistic relationships with other species as well. Many different species of beetles, aphids, fungi and other insects also live in ant colonies perform specific tasks for the superorganism much like beneficial microbes in the human body. The ants farm fungus and herd and milk aphids and welcome others bugs in that have something to contribute to the colony. Truly an amazing society much like our own.

Ladybugs have fascinated human kind since the begining of history and have developed a mutualism with us. Since the middle ages western society has used these friendly non-stinging bugs as pest control for their crops. Using their green thumbs these crops flourished from their meticulous maintenance, and many people soon came to associate them with good luck. Throughout the middle ages they earned a variety of Amiable names including; Sun Calf, God’s Lamb, or God’s Little Thief. In recent years they were even used as pest control in South Western Ontario and were EVERYWHERE shortly thereafter. Thankfully they declined very quickly as they did their job and started to run out of food.

Editor’s note: Paul seems to think they are adorable, but to this author they are a plague that should be used sparingly. I was terrorized one summer by these biting monstrosities! Keep them fed and they are peaceful and awesome but too many of them they are close to becoming the most annoying bugs in existence. Still not harmful but VERY annoying. GO HIVE!

Happy Halloween!

The living dead may not be as far-fetched an idea as would have been previously assumed. At least not in the world of insects. Throughout time, across the planet, there have been countless examples in the insect kingdom of mindless bugs, stripped of life, shambling to the beat of some eerie drum. Cockroaches, for instance can reportedly survive long after their head has been severed. This is of course just the tip of the iceberg.

Phorid flies and Jewel wasps are both reputed for laying eggs inside an unsuspecting victim via sting. Once the young hatch they feast on the inside of the host, reducing them to a wandering zombie. This is truly amazing although not an isolated exmaple. There are even forms of fungus which enter an insects body through respiratory spiracles and begin to consume the non-vital soft tissues. Again, the victim is reduced to a mindless zombie shambling to area well suited to spread more spores. The fungus then causes the victim to anchor themselves, spreading throughout and eventually killing the insect by growing through it’s exoskeleton. At this point the flowering fungal body bursts, spewing more spores into the air. In this manner whole colonies can be wiped out.

Kind of creepy? The list goes on.
Zombies ARE among us…

Social insects such as ants and termites have been cultivating and consuming fungal crops for millions of years, much longer than humans have even existed.

Termites for example use chewed up pieces of wood and plant matter as organic fertilizer to grow a special wood-rot fungus from the genus Teritomyces that is even edible to humans. The termites build mound enclosures that act as greenhouses keeping the interiors moist and warm with a constant temperature of 29-32 degrees celcius. They even construct their own ventilation systems with air ducts and heating and cooling systems.

Ants never to be outdone by their mortal enemies have also cultivated crops for millions of years. Leafcutter ants have mastered the art of fungal cultivation.The ants actively cultivate their fungus, feeding it with freshly cut plant material and keeping it free from pests and molds. These ants even have bacteria growing on them capable of secreting an anti-microbial agent that they use to keep their farms healthy. They have also developed specialized soldiers and workers to tend to and protect their crops and farmers.

In the Underground, the ant colony of Coryn is built within a fungus-covered tree stump, the Termite Union has more than one dynasty which emphasizes heavily on the cultivation of fungus for many uses. Both of these societies realize the value of having abundant food stores. The cultivation of farms enables both to build and support large armies and ensures that every ant and termite in the underground has a full belly.

Napoleon once said “an army marches on it’s stomach”. I believe this is what he was talking about