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Chris Higgins
Inside a Giant Ant Colony
by Chris Higgins - November 19, 2008 - 9:48 PM

Today’s crazy science video: a Science Channel documentary in which scientists pour 10 tons of concrete down a massive anthill, let it harden for a month, then carefully excavate it to demonstrate the internal structure of the colony. It took three days of pumping to fill the colony with concrete.

The sad thing about this is that the colony was alive at the time. And it’s a heck of a big colony — the ants excavated an estimated 40 tons of dirt in its construction.

You may find the narration annoying. It’s worth it to see what happens around the four-minute mark, though. The inside of the colony is shockingly well-organized, and looks creepily like an animal’s lymph system.


(Via Kottke.org.)

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Comments (7)

  1. Seems kind of strange that in order to understand this intricate structure of a society of creatures, the scientists go about destroying it.

    I’m no environmentalist, but there’s got to be a better way to study the giant ant nest than filling it with concrete…

    posted by KB on 11-20-2008 at 1:55 am

  2. …in which scientists pour 10 tons of concrete*

    posted by Jake Le Master on 11-20-2008 at 8:43 am

  3. I agree about the contrast in destroying it to study it, however that was amazing. And AFAIK there is no shortage of ants on the planet (guessing this wouldn’t have been done were it some type of endangered ant species).

    I’ve always been fascinated by them, and certainly now have an even greater appreciation.

    posted by EV on 11-20-2008 at 8:49 am

  4. @Jake - oops. Fixed!

    posted by Chris Higgins on 11-20-2008 at 9:12 am

  5. Think of it as an ant Pompei.

    Actually, destroying it to study it is a common necessity in biology.
    Darwin did it in the Galapagos. Audubon did it to create all those beutiful illustrations that people still pay hundreds of dollars for reprints of.

    posted by BassMan on 11-20-2008 at 11:34 am

  6. I agree–sad the ants had to be killed in order to study them. I never knew that. I watch those shows all the time with great enjoyment. Makes me want to reconsider watching.

    posted by Melissa Duarte on 11-20-2008 at 2:39 pm

  7. Yeah, where’s the disclaimer… No ants were harmed in the filming of this documentary?!

    Just kidding!

    posted by PointSpecial on 11-23-2008 at 3:07 am

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