Ants in my Pants

With the river of safari ants

Tonight, as I headed back to my apartment after my evening shift in the computer lab, fellow teacher Lari and I encountered a new crack in the pavement in front of the ad building. Upon closer investigation, however, the crack kept moving. "Safari ants!" Lari exclaimed. We looked at the landscaping brick along the edge of the pathway, peering at a dark mass of ants the size and thickness of a softball. I don't know much about safari ants except some amusing stories of others dancing when they realized they were standing in the path of the ants. Lari warned me to keep my distance, though I'd already assumed a safe place between him and the huge wad of insects.

Soldier ants created a tunnel for the
worker ants to travel through

I followed the dark trail of arthropods toward the flag pole, intrigued. As I hunched over, straining to see the ants by light of the street lamp, I realized that there was not just one path, but two; a small tributary of six-legged wonders had broken off from the main stream, and I was standing in it. I quickly jumped to the side and stomped around a bit, staring at my shoes intently to ensure I hadn't picked up any hitchhikers. Whew. All clear.

I continued walking toward my apartment, now keenly aware of the sidewalk ahead of me. I got to the front door, hearing our newly adopted kitten crying loudly, then noticed a small gecko chilling right next to the door jam, waiting to slip into our house. I tried to shoo it away, when suddenly OUCH! My pant leg bit me. OW! Another nibble on my other leg. Now I'm dancing on the doorstep, attempting to frighten a gecko out of its doorway hiding place, slapping my legs, and trying to silence a feline yelp from the other side of a window. The gecko finally skittered away and I dashed into my room, hurriedly drawing the curtains and shutting the door to remove the offending pants, er, ants. Hullo, Wednesday.

A soldier ant acting as "sentry" for the river of smaller worker ants.
This photo frightens me.