Adventures of Spidey - Chapter -1b

          Don’t worry about that, there are other soldier ants to look after our colony and the queen. Spidey’s eye widened, Are you saying that you are living with the queen? “Of Course! where else?” Are you a princess? No silly I’m a worker. I have lots of duties to do in the colony, like taking care of the eggs that the queen lays and the feed and bathe the babies that come out of the egg then I’ll have to gather food for the colony and to help in building the anthills. Really? Do you actually know to build an anthill? “Well, a bit because there are lots of workers and slaves who joins together to do it. We just follow the elders, but I think your web is cool. You do it alone, right? Yes, I do it alone. “I have seen that insects get stuck in your web, but how come, you don’t get stuck there in your own web?” “Well our body produces an oil with which we are able to move easily.” Really? “Yes”.

          Hey, Antsy, don’t you think you should check where you’re going? “Well, I usually move around here, as a matter of fact, we are in the human jungle. Humans are very careless, their backyard, their kitchen (where they  prepare food) is fit for us to make an anthill. I just am sure there would be such houses here, so that I can inform the other workers about it and they would arrive in groups.” But, how would you know your way back Antsy? don’t you think we have already walked a long distance? “Yes we have, its almost noon, but I won’t loose my way as we have a tracking device in our body, we produce a pheromone track (Its a smell coming from our body and they make a trail wherever we go),  and I have my own smell and I return by smelling this, but you know, the humans are very intelligent, they just rub some other smells in our track and we would loose our smell and our way and we get lost. But our elders  make sure that we don’t get into their houses, we usually live in nature but that doesn’t mean, that we don’t eat food that are thrown outside.

          So what about you? How do you get your food Spidey? Well mine is not that complicated as you. We don’t go in search of food, we just spin our webs from one place to other like nets and some insects get caught and we make some more web around the insect so that they don’t rip the web or fly away. Then I have my feast. But Spidey don’t you get tired sitting there simply the whole time weaving webs and waiting for the prey to be caught in your web. Do you have any storehouse to keep the food you collect for the bad times? “No we don’t do it because we have only one person to survive and we don’t stay with the queen like you people. AAAAAAAAAAAAhhhhh Spppppppppppideeeeeeeeey Heeeeeeeeeeelp. Spidey couldn’t believe his eyes, Antsy was going down a cutting made by humans for construction purpose. Spidey didn’t think anything , he just jumped after Antsy connecting himself with a dragline attached to a root of a tree which he was making with his spinnerets (glands on the abdomen to produce web silk) while he was jumping and caught hold of Antsy in mid-air. He felt relieved as he could get Antsy in time and slowly he lowered her to the ground. Antsy felt relieved. She just hugged Spidey and thanked him for his help. Only then Antsy got her shock of her life. The very first shock, Antsy was lost. She won’t be able to find her way back home. She didn’t know what to do. Spidey too understood the mistake he had made. He didn’t know how to undo it. But he extended his hand towards Antsy and said “Why don’t we help each other to survive Antsy?” With tears in her eyes, she shook her head. Don't worry Antsy, your hard work and my swinging capability can be the best team. Why don't we shake hands as "Partners For Life?” And thus started the journey.

            Just stay happy until tomorrow. Bye for now.

Meena