Busy Ants!

When I was a kid, I noticed that ants traveled around on trails going like crazy back and forth… busy, busy ants.  They were fascinating to me as an 8 year old!  For some childish reason, I decided to smash them with a nail hammer all along their trail.  I guess it was my bad side thinking I was doing some good to rid the world of these ants. 

So, I crawled along this very long line of ants, not paying any attention to Mom watching me nearby.  Mom called out to me: “What are you doing?”  While still hammering I retorted, “I am killing ants!”  Mom did not like me doing this.  She told me that these ants were not doing anything wrong and that they were beneficial to the world.  I said: “you do not like them when they come into the kitchen.”  She explained that sometimes beneficial insects become pests when they get in our way, but these insects are not in the way and not being a pest at all – they are just part of nature being productive to their colony.  She said that I was just wasting time, not doing anything productive. 

I am not sure I totally understood what she meant that day, but I have not killed any more ants unless they are being pests to people!  This brings to mind a quote from Henry David Thoreau who used ants to make a point about being productive: “It is not enough to be busy, so are ants.  The question is: What are we busy about?”