"Ant Bully is a myth." -- Bry'Chell

When I was a kid in California we had two kinds of ants--red ones that bit and black ones that didn't. Here there are many, many kinds of ants. There are the little red ones that don't bite and are easy to wipe out but are ubiquitous. They are literally everywhere. You cannot leave any food out anywhere for more than a couple of minutes or these little buggers will find it. They seem to prefer bread and meat. They don't care much for fruit and vegetables--sort of like kids.

Bry'Chell in a fit of frustration with finding ants someplace they don't belong, said with vehemence, "Ant Bully is a myth." Ant Bully is an animated feature where a picked-upon boy turns his rage on some helpless ants. In turn, the ants use some magical powers to reduce the boy to their size wherein he learns a lesson in compassion for those less fortunate.

Bry'Chell's compassion for the ants is long gone. So is mine.

The second kind of ants are larger, also red, also don't bite, but are frenetic bundles of energy. They travel in small groups--four to eight and run around on the floor like lunatics. They appear without purpose and run around at random. Because they are larger, they are more annoying, but they don't exist in the mass that the little buggers do.

The outside ants are a bit more aggressive and can give some nasty bites. They are to be avoided at all costs. They are generally larger and live in ant hills, which may be camouflaged in the grass. Since I generally wear sandals, these nasty little dudes are worth keeping an eye on. I haven't been bit since the first few months we were here. I have good pain-avoidance instincts.

Of course, there are the huge ant hills. I don't know much about these ants, although they are fascinating to watch when they decide to leave the hill. These ants are a delicacy with folks. They catch them and fry them. No one's offered to share, so I haven't had a chance to try any. I'm not exactly dropping hints for the chance to participate in an ant feast, so that's OK.

These are only a few of the ant families. I suspect my powers of observation miss much of the ant world. Still, I see more than I want to know. Bry'Chell's right, Ant Bully is a myth.