The marvellous energy of ants

Damien Enright on how the amazing energy of ants is still a sight to behold.

THE energy of ants! I have always been fascinated by the Herculean energy of these creatures. I remember watching them for an hour at a time as a child — I think it was in a chalet rented for a few weeks in Inchydoney, Co Cork, one long-ago summer — and being very disappointed when my father poured boiling water into their nest because they were invading the kitchen. Pissmires, they were called, and they were small and red, and could bite one if annoyed.

A few mornings ago, when I went for my wake-up dip in the pool at our rented cottage in the high Alpujarras mountains of southern Spain, I crossed long ant-avenues, three-inch-wide corridors snaking across the weedy garden, thoroughfares as clear of debris as motorways, with busy columns of ants going both ways. Those heading for the nest bore straws and pieces of leaves.