[ExI] ants again

[BillK]

On Sat, Jun 21, 2014 at 1:55 AM, spike  wrote:
> I figured it was worth the risk of a few ant bites or stings or both
(they are two different things
> with ants, for they have both a mechanical bite with their powerful
mandibles and a sting on
> their abdomen tip analogous to a bee sting.)  So I held my hand in the
midst of the ant war
> and hoped for the best.  Not one ant took the least bit of interest in
stinging or biting me.
> So I scooped up a wad of them.  Some of them wandered about on my hands
and up my arm,
> but they were more interested in finding an opposing ant to fight than to
bite me.
>
> I know for sure ants will sting and bite if you mess with their nest, so
I went over to one of the
> holes and put my finger right in the stream going out.  They went around
it.  So I figured I now
> at least had the scent of the bad guys on my finger, so I went over to
the good guy's nest, and
> offered them a bite.  But no takers.  I fooled with those ants for
several minutes longer than is
> proper for a grown man to mess with a bunch of damn bugs, but never did I
get a single bite or
> sting.  So I went and got my son, and demonstrated the experiment again,
and again no bites,
> no stings.
>
> Conclusion: warring ants don't bite humans.  Only each other.
>


It depends on the species of ant. Some small black ants are too small to
bite or sting humans. Like the sugar ants that are common in homes. But
don't try interfering with fire ants!

BillK
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