'Proverbial for industry'

The ants are my friends

There were ants around the stove plate where the oxtail stew was being prepared.

A veritable armada of ants.

Each specimen was the perfect form of the idea of an ant in Platonic Idealism. They were mini dumbbells, just under a centimetre, with round little bums* and tiny waists* and six perfect ant legs extending from their shiny little thoraxes. Their antennae were articulated. The ants were well-defined. Buff. Ripped. Gym ants.

*Ant bums are actually called ‘gasters’.

*Ant waists are actually called ‘petioles’.

A month after the encounter with the oxtail scavengers on the highveld, I came across similar looking ants in the Little Karoo. They were carrying flowers. I have video footage if you don’t believe me. PHOTO: Karin Schimke