Sunday, December 20, 2009

Picture: Flying Ant

7 comments:

Terry said...

Fascinating! The wings look like the maple tree seeds we used to call helicopters. They're really quite elegant when you see them close up.

Ahistoricality said...

Thanks. I love a good bug shot. I'm starting to feel the limits of my equipment, though. I want a camera that sees better and smaller than I do.

Terry said...

I don't suppose you can slip a new lens into your department's budget for next semester? It could come under the heading of evolutionary history of entomology. Then you could apply for a grant to study the history of Asian insects. Yeah, yeah, that's the ticket....

Ahistoricality said...

I talked them into a scanner this year, but I'd have to be a really smooth talker to get high-end camera equipment out of them! I'm not that good, but maybe I could convince the Biology department to help fund a research trip..... You might be on to something!

Not Important said...

A whole passel of flying ants crawled out from under neighbor Rusty's deck whilst we were sitting there over the summer. They were fascinating. And crunchy.

Ahistoricality said...

I don't want to alarm you, GDad, but some termites strongly resemble flying ants which swarm.....

As Ogden Nash said,
"Some primal termite knocked on wood,
and tasted it, and found it good.
And that is why your cousin May
fell through the parlor floor today."

Not Important said...

That is one of my favorite Ogden Nash poems. Mr. Nash died when I was an infant, and I consistently keep him in the top five list of late people I'd like to have dinner with from the 19th and 20th centuries.

Just to play along with the Nash theme...

The one-L lama, he's a priest
The two-L llama, he's a beast
And I would bet a silk pyjama
There isn't any three-L lllama