The Atta Dance!

Post here for any notes or records of sightings in the wild. Behaviour, nuptial flights etc, everything about these ants from the Tropics!
Post Reply
User avatar
Acromyrmexbob
Site Admin
Posts: 2199
Joined: Tue Nov 24, 2015 10:32 pm

The Atta Dance!

Post by Acromyrmexbob » Sat Dec 19, 2015 7:46 pm

My Dad, who sadly died some years ago, offered to accompany me on my first ever trip to Trinidad. It was 1991 and we arrived without any idea of what to look for or how to go about getting ants. We did not know about small colonies or Atta and Acromyrmex. Such information was for far better prepared travelers than us. So on the first day we embarked on our mission to find leaf cutting ants and almost immediately we found a lovely colony that only stretched around 12 feet across!!! Little did my Dad know, at that point, but he was only around 15 minutes away from inventing a whole new dance, The Atta Dance. In his fantastic ignorance of what we were doing he had discarded those infernal socks he always had to wear with his stiff suit back home when he was working in his legal firm. Replacing his black polished shoes with a pair of casual open sandals, he was perhaps less prepared than he would have liked as I started to excavate into this massive nest, my wide eyed optimism barely dented when I hit the first fungus garden and 200 fiery mad soldiers emerged to attack. As the following few minutes unfolded I can remember only two things. Me realizing leaf cutting ants required more thought and preparation than I had afforded them in my trip build up and my Dad emitting a sound similar to a cat slowly being deep fried. A soldier Atta had climbed between two toes inside his sandal and had introduced itself by plunging its twin shears deeply into one of my dads more tender of places. Then, even with the absence of any music, my dad started to dance. I did not feel a sense of wonder at being the first person in the world to witness the Atta dance but I did laugh. Seeing someone jumping around on one leg whilst clawing at the other foot and squealing like a girl (sorry Eloise!) is something that will stay with me forever. When he fell to the ground in order to remove said offending sandal and subsequently, the ant, we realised that our lack of preparation in learning safe distances would emerge as a further reminder of our folly because the soldiers had reached where he fell and introduced themselves in their customary way. When I am working with Atta today and someone gets bitten, their reaction (even mine when it happens to me) always reminds me of my father and I find myself smiling at the memory.

User avatar
Bitterlime
Minim
Posts: 189
Joined: Thu Dec 03, 2015 4:59 pm

Re: The Atta Dance!

Post by Bitterlime » Sat Dec 19, 2015 11:59 pm

That's quite a story! :) :lol:

User avatar
Deansie26
Major
Posts: 1237
Joined: Mon Nov 30, 2015 3:30 pm
Location: Scotland

Re: The Atta Dance!

Post by Deansie26 » Sun Dec 20, 2015 12:13 am

That's such a really nice story, heart warming and really funny at the same time. I can just imagine you in stitches at your dads soldier tango lol.

User avatar
Acromyrmexbob
Site Admin
Posts: 2199
Joined: Tue Nov 24, 2015 10:32 pm

Re: The Atta Dance!

Post by Acromyrmexbob » Fri Mar 25, 2016 10:16 am

Just did an Atta dance in the ant room. It was a beaut! Full performance until I got the soldier out from under my trousers where it had decided to climb up to above my knee before sinking its jaws in!!

Post Reply