Ants in folklore
- “Latvju tautas daiņas” (Latvian Folk Songs)
Like ants in a forest,
Have gathered a big ant-hill,
A group of sisters
Have done great work.
While herding, I saw,
An ant pulling a string
Was the ant weaving a plaid,
Was it making pleats?
- “Latviešu tautas ticējumi” (Latvian Folk Beliefs)
When there are a lot of ants in the room, it will rain. /L. Bulīts, Krape/
When you first see ants in the spring, you have to smack your palms into the ant mob and rub your forehead, and then you will not get headaches. /J. Banazis, Nīca/
- “Sisenis un skudra” (The Ant and the Cricket)
Ants in culture
- One Lat coin “Ant” was launched in 2003. Size of issue – 250 000 coins. It weighs 4.8 grams, equivalent to the mass of approximately 480 ants.
- Stamps
Ants in contemporary culture
- Poster for the Ant-Man superhero movie
- “Skudras nepadodas” (Ants do not Give up)
Audio
- Dālderi “Dzeltenie aizkari” (Yellow Curtains)
Video
- Cartoon “Skudriņa Tipa” (Ant Tipa)
Ants in cuisine
Ants, including different developmental stages thereof, are also used in the cuisine of different cultures. The taste of ants is sour. To receive 1 g of protein, you need to consume approximately 400 ants.
Ants in science
Myrmecology – the branch of science that studies ants. The ant fauna of the world is researched incompletely, and scientists describe new species every year. They are sometimes named after celebrities, for instance Pheidole harrisonfordi from Central America named after actor Harrison Ford and Zasphinctus obamai from Kenya named after the former US President Barack Obama.
Nowadays, ants are also used as research subjects in other fields of science – bionics, social biology, medicine, engineering and even computer science.
Scientists analyse the organisation of ant movements to understand how large numbers of individuals can work together and avoid the development of traffic jam.