Recently, I read an absolutely fascinating article by two Japanese scientists who study ant behavior. They described how one species of ant uses sophisticated chemistry to wipe out an entire colony of another species.
The process unfolds as follows: The queen of the parasitic species approaches the colony of another species. Since ants rely on scent, and to prevent being detected and attacked due to the different smell of her body, she grabs the first worker of the foreign species and thoroughly rubs herself with it. This masks her original scent, allowing her to enter the foreign colony without fear. “Perfumed” in this way, she raises no suspicion. According to the scientists, some workers even began feeding her immediately, believing she was their queen.
When the parasitic queen finds the real queen, she positions her abdomen and sprays her with a liquid containing her own scent. The smell of the intruder, now emanating from the affected queen, triggers chaos. The colony members instantly and brutally attack and kill their queen — their biological mother.
After the original queen’s death, the parasitic queen lays eggs, which the workers of the original colony then care for as if they were their own. Once hatched, the young kill both their caretakers and the remaining colony members, leading to the complete collapse of the original colony.
So if you find shit instead of perfume under the Christmas tree, don’t despair. Just as the parasitic ant disguises its scent to destroy a colony from within, the human world is full of those who cloak themselves in false symbols. The true gift is truth, which endures even if it doesn’t smell sweet.
Merry Christmas! 🎄