Big Headed Rascals

  Usually, when people are called "big-headed", it refers to their inflated egos and not the actual size of their heads.  I know a few people that could fit the description well.  They have such a high opinion of themselves that they act like they are a few notches above all others.  Sorry to burst their bubbles but no one is above anyone else.  In my opinion, everyone is equal.  Sure some are better at certain things but everyone has a way to shine.  Those inflated egos do nothing but irk others.  This is not about people and their uppity ways, however, but about some truly big-headed critters.  Yep, critters with unusually large heads!

  My herb garden is coming along nicely with the exception of one small problem.  A colony of big-headed ants has decided that the freshly dug dirt is an ideal place to call home.  This habitation became quite noticeable by way of a few bites.  Something had to be done to eradicate the critters before anyone else had a run-in with them.  With that in mind, a bit of "target-specific" ant bait was carefully administered  and after just a few days...no more ants.

  Big-headed ants do, indeed, have a huge head.  Well, some of the worker ants do, at least.  The colony is made up of the queen(s) and two types of workers...the major workers and the minor workers.  Both types are foragers and builders but the major workers have huge heads while the minor workers are wee beings.  They both make tunnels as they forage for food.  Each colony can have several fertile queens so the colony rapidly grows once established.  They do not sting and are slow to bite doing so only if their nest is disturbed (which I did).  While this non-stinging/slow to bite ant sounds ideal, it is an invasive species that does disrupt the lives of other ants.  In fact, this big-headed ant can displace red fire ants.  Wait! Maybe I should not have gotten rid of the invasive critters that do not sting and are slow to bite!  Fire ants hurt!  They bite and then sting!  Perhaps the big-headed ants are not so bad after all.  I just do not need them in the herb garden.