The other day I was visiting my son at the beautiful Evergreen College, near Olympia, Washington. I parked in one of the public parking lots and was hanging out waiting for my son when I noticed this pile of dirt around one of the trees in the grass medians in the parking lot. In this picture you can see that brown dirt patch. As I got closer to this brown patch I realized that the brown patch was ALIVE. Yes, everything visible in the picture at the base of the tree that is dark in color is ANTS! These are thatching ants and the large mound has been there quite a while as is evidenced by the grass and other vegetation growing up the sides of the mound. The activity on the surface of the mound would increase and decrease as the sun went in and out behind the clouds. As I watched their activity it seemed almost incomprehensible that each one of these ants, on a genetic level, knows exactly what it is doing. What appears as total chaos to the observer from above is not the truth at all. When we extrapolate this mass of interactions to human activities, it certainly gives one a reason to pause regarding notions of “individuality.” If one were to look down from above at the activities of human beings would it seem this chaotic? On some level, is the mass of human activity following unseen laws or rules that would actually make sense if we were capable of seeing the whole picture---or would human activity be “truly” chaotic as opposed to the very ordered chaos of the ants? Here is another picture of a Thatching Ant nest I found on Whidbey Island last summer. These nests are very common in Washington State and can be very large. This one is at least 24 inches tall and 36 inches in diameter. The darker shadow-like arc visible on the left side of the mound is actually a covering of ants as they stay out of the direct sun. The entire mound is constructed of bits of grass and twigs----which is a bit like “thatch” and has earned them the name of Thatching Ants. These ants take “finding oneself” to a whole new level.
Charles Buell
Click on the Rose 
to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group
PS, for those of you that are new to my blog (or for some other "unexplained" reason have never noticed)
all pictures and smiley-face inserts (emoticons) (when I use them) have messages that show up when you point at them with your cursor.
DeCroe, is my "etherial" home inspector assistant and occasionally flies into my blog and other people's blogs to offer assistance. To find out more about her beginnings just click on Raven.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Click on the Rose to check out: AHA!---A Forum of Landmark Proportions---your Group
PS, for those of you that are new to my blog (or for some other "unexplained" reason have never noticed)all pictures and smiley-face inserts (emoticons) (when I use them) have messages that show up when you point at them with your cursor.
My WORDLESS WEDNESDAY pictures and some selected POEMS & STORIES.
very cool.... I wonder if they're harmful or beneficial to the tree
Alan, I have never heard of them being harmful to the tree. They are considered more of a nuisance. Occassionally they will nest in the wall cavity in homes----but this is pretty rare.
Charles, eee-yuuu! Gross! But I bet you're really glad you had your camera with you when you saw these little guys!
I don't believe we have thatching ants in our area. I've never seen a mound like this. Ours live underground. Wonder what would happen if you took a stick and poked it into the thatch. You know little kids must do that all the time. Would ants come fighting out or retreat?
That, they say, is the difference in fire ants and regular ants. Fire ants will come out and getcha fast! Regular ones go underground further.
Patricia, I pretty much always have my camera with me----you just never know when you are going to see a blog opportunity:)
Barbara----I am content to just leave them be:)
If I were a Thatching Ant I would be the one that worked my little butt off day after day with little to no gratitude ensuring that the Queen had everything her heart desired. Wait a minute!! I do that now!!!!
Dan, I believe that you have TOTALLY gotten the point of this post:)
Mr Charles,
Crow, crow, crow. All you do is crow. Yours is bigger and better. I saw more ants than that in your dishwasher that time I was staying at your house in December. I can be this honest with you because of our buddy-hood.
Nutsy
Yeeesssshhhh. I keep telling you that was the neighbor's house and it was THEIR dishwasher you had been sleeping in. Seriously I am beginning to worry about your brain----you really don't have much to lose!
WOW! I have not seen ants like that since I was in Costa Rica on a Backpacking expedition with a group of Boy Scouts!
Russel, here is another view of this mound of ants.
So Charlie, when you saw that did you think that you were seeing the earth move?
cool post! I've never seen them or their work before.
Good grief -- never saw a group of ants like that -- all the best.
Steve, it does sort of give the feeling of the ground being alive until you realize it is a bunch of ants.
Jim----there are East Coast ants that build mounds---not sure if they are related or not.
Bob & Carolin----they are pretty impressive
Have never heard of or seen these little guys before. Don't believe we have any thing like them here. Preety cool.
James, it seems like I remember there being some sort of mounding ants in Conn. They werre very tiny and the mounds were mostly sand.
James, I think they were probably Allegany Mound Ants
Very kindly,
Croakster
Croakster, as I can well imagine! Your boss likes them chocolate covered I hear.
Very kindly,
Croakster
If I had my choice I would guess "or would human activity be “truly” chaotic as opposed to the very ordered chaos of the ants?".
Of course, order is perceived, or thats what I keep telling the boss.
Charlie - If I was a thatching ant, my name would be Waldo - and, I would leave everybody guessing - "Where's Waldo"?
Charlie,
When you were done there did you feel like singing "I Got Ants In My Pants, and I Got To Dance?
Croakster---why am I not surprised?
Jack---I suspect their is more order than we can see. Even disease is very ordered.
James, they most likely went to different schools together.
Carol, that would be one tough Waldo:) (Maybe I will photo shop one out of the picture)
Steve----I always have ants in my pants---not big on dancing however:)
Very kindly,
Croakster
For those of you who are washington staters, my wife and I went camping out by Naches this spring and found the camp sites were over run with these mounds (see link to reserve the camp site). Some of the mounds were taller than I am (and I am over 6 feet). For some reason I couldn't get my kids to play on the mounds...
http://www.recreation.gov/campgroundDetails.do?contractCode=NRSO&parkId=74022
Chuck, would love to see some pictures