ANThropomorphising

Over the last couple of days I've moved about 250kg of topsoil (by shovel and wheelbarrow) and about 450kg of paving slabs (don't worry - by 'rolling', not lifting them). I allow myself plenty of breaks and one was the hour I watched the ants' nest I disturbed when I lifted the paving slab it was under. (The ants are hard to see against the soil but more visible/less blurred if you're interested enough to look large.)

For the first 12 minutes the ants scurried around apparently randomly then gradually they came back to the nest and started carrying the 150 or so pupae away (first extra, 4½ minutes later). There must have been more of the nest further underground and by watching where the ants went I learnt where its five entrances were. After a while the entrances were completely clogged up with pupae waiting to be taken in (second extra, 15 seconds after first extra) .

Ants are famous for their cooperative behaviour but I was fascinated to watch some disagreements about which way to go: although almost all the young were rescued 15 minutes after the process started, it took another 35 minutes for the last of the poor pupae being carted backwards and forwards to finally disappear safely underground.

By the end I was so admiring of the ants' industry and felt so guilty about having blitzed their home that I put small amounts of sugar round each of the entrances so they could recover some energy.