Mind & Spirit
Sacrificial Ants and Suicidal Bees
When
we combine the
words ‘serving’ and ‘insects’,
most people would think of
antsannoying
creepy
crawlies which ruin kitchen
supplies- and bees, kamikaze
stingers which scare us. In
Indonesia there are two types
of ants in general- the black,
harmless ones which are fun
to squish and the scarier red
ones which make us jump and
run away. There are also bees, from which we would
cower behind bedsheets in fear of being stung and leave
crying with bee stinger underneath our skin.
But there are much more to these squishy bugs than
we usually give them credit for. Ants, for one, are the
most successful species on Earth, and are most likely to
inherit it from us after the apocalypse. They take
servanthood and community service to a whole new
level. Each night, the Forelius Pusillus (the scientific
name of ants) sacrifice some of their own for its
colony. The cold forces these ants to close their
underground colony each evening. But somebody has
to help close the door from outside. So according to
sciencemag.org, one or two unfortunate ants will
sacrifice themselves to close the entrance, so their
fellow ants can live another day and greet the morning
sunshine with a couple of corpses by the door.
Imagine having dinner at the dorm, study and then
having a couple of guys head over to the jaga’s gate,
close it, then die outside of hypothermia overnight.
Another incredible feat we should adopt from
anthood is that each and every one of them
contributes to the cause. From the time they are tiny
larvaes, they are already secreting food and glue for
By Moze Simanjuntak
adults to use- although I
would prefer normal bread
over regurgitated baby soup.
It doesn’t matter how young
they are, they can always do
something for others! Just
being independent would
help a lot. Clean your room,
wash your dishes, sweep,
mop. It’s not a lot, but it’s a
start.
Meanwhile, bees have a
few tricks up their sleeves as well. What o