GO TO THE ANT

 

How Ants Survive Floods

What do ants do when it rains? Though not all ant species live underground, some that do employ remarkable flood-survival techniques, says The New York Times. Certain tropical forest ants “react to as little as a single drop [of water] placed in the nest entrance by making alarm runs through the nest, which often end at alternate entrances,” explain ant specialists Dr. Edward O. Wilson and Bert Holldobler. “They use odor trails to lead nest mates into the unobstructed entrance galleries and sometimes out of the nest altogether.” In no more than 30 seconds, they are able to mobilize most of the colony. And in the southwestern United States and northern South America, reports The Times, certain fire ants “move up through the nests to ground level, form large masses that include adults, the queen and her brood, and float on the rising waters. Many survive . . . The raft eventually anchors itself on grass or bushes, and the survivors may return to the nest when the waters recede.”

 

Go to the Ant

People are going to the ant these days for more than just wisdom—also to get healthy and rich. Prospectors have “found that white ants, or termites, could lead them to precious metals lying underground,” says The Daily Yomiuri of Tokyo. How so? As the insects dig deep in search of water, they bring soil to the surface. Analyzing the resulting anthills has led prospectors to the minerals lying below. One farmer in South Africa reportedly noticed small twinkles of light reflecting from an anthill. Inspection showed their source to be tiny rubies, which led him to a fortune in diamonds buried below. In China, though, interest is in the insects themselves. “Chinese health experts,” notes Asiaweek, “claim that powder made from the hard-working insects can cure rheumatoid arthritis and many other diseases.” The pulverized creatures are said to be high in protein and zinc. Additionally, “wineries in Peking and Jiangsu Province have been producing ant tonics for years,” says the report.

 

Be Industrious Like the Ant

“Go to the ant, you lazy one; see its ways and become wise,” admonishes Solomon. What wisdom can we gain from the ways of a little ant? The king answers: “Although it has no commander, officer or ruler, it prepares its food even in the summer; it has gathered its food supplies even in the harvest.”—Proverbs 6:6-8.

Ants are marvelously organized and remarkably cooperative with one another. Instinctively, they gather food supplies for the future. They have “no commander, officer or ruler.” True, the queen ant is there, but she is queen only in the sense that she lays eggs and is the mother of the colony. She gives no commands. Even with no foreman to drive them or supervisor to check on them, the ants keep tirelessly at their work.

Like the ant, should we not also be industrious? Working hard and striving to improve in our work is good for us whether we are being monitored or not. Yes, in school, at our place of employment, and while sharing in spiritual activities, we should do our best. As the ant benefits from its industriousness, so God wants us to ‘see good for all our hard work.’ (Ecclesiastes 3:13, 22; 5:18) A clean conscience and personal satisfaction are the rewards of hard work.—Ecclesiastes 5:12.

Using two rhetorical questions, Solomon tries to awaken a slothful one from his indolence: “How long, you lazy one, will you keep lying down? When will you rise up from your sleep?” Mimicking him in speech, the king adds: “A little more sleep, a little more slumbering, a little more folding of the hands in lying down, and your poverty will certainly come just like some rover, and your want like an armed man.” (Proverbs 6:9-11) While the lazy one is supine, poverty overtakes him with the speed of a bandit, and scarcity attacks him like an armed man. The fields of a sluggard quickly become full of weeds and nettles. (Proverbs 24:30, 31)  His business enterprise suffers losses in no time. For how long would an employer tolerate an idler? And can a student who is too lazy to study expect to do well in school?

For more information please see 'AWAKE' magazine at www.jw.org