4.04.2006

Yucky Bugs - part 874

This ant was in the top corner of my shower the other day.


Maybe you can't tell from the picture, but it's about 3/4 inch long, which is an entirely unacceptable length for an ant. Having spent my entire life in Texas, I have a healthy terror of fire ants. Once when I was very little, I was standing in a pile of them and didn't notice until they all started stinging me at once. My legs were covered all the way up to my knees. I remember screaming and frantically swatting my legs, and I think my mom saved me by grabbing the water hose and spraying them off. I don't think fire ants get this large, but even the possibility that a colony of giant, mutant fire ants is setting up housekeeping near my bathroom is, um, unpleasant.

2 comments:

Felix said...

I had a similar experience when we were living in Oklahoma. It was sort of my fault, though. I was having great fun kicking their antpile apart before they regrouped and counterattacked.

I vaguely recall being frightened of the red bits in some strawberry-flavored ice cream afterward.

J said...

I like the ant picture.
Also, I keep copying your template choice, but I'm not doing it on purpose.
We have similar tastes.