Patterico's Pontifications

5/12/2009

News You Can Use

Filed under: Nature — DRJ @ 4:17 pm



[Guest post by DRJ]

Who says nothing good comes from Texas? Zombie Fire Ants.

— DRJ

30 Responses to “News You Can Use”

  1. Ok, that explains Obama voters.

    nk (755c01) — 5/12/2009 @ 4:20 pm

  2. BTW, did I ever tell you “Welcome Back”, DRJ?

    nk (755c01) — 5/12/2009 @ 4:20 pm

  3. I think you did but I like hearing it twice, and it’s good to be back.

    DRJ (b0f193) — 5/12/2009 @ 4:22 pm

  4. How do these flies do in more temperate climates?
    I’m thinking Ivy League, here.

    AD - RtR/OS! (3eaf60) — 5/12/2009 @ 4:26 pm

  5. Zombies always make for interesting posts. I think one about Carrie Prejean’s photos and zombies would break Sitemeter.

    JD (b9ca6b) — 5/12/2009 @ 4:27 pm

  6. You know that whatever strip of grass between the sidewalk and the street? I’ve been in California ten years and I still step over it to get my foot on the curb not the grass.

    happyfeet (71f55e) — 5/12/2009 @ 5:00 pm

  7. You may be ready for a Zombie walk, happyfeet.

    DRJ (b0f193) — 5/12/2009 @ 5:02 pm

  8. Those ants will be dancing at the Zombie Zoo . . .

    Brother Bradley J. Fikes, C.O.R., (82be0c) — 5/12/2009 @ 5:04 pm

  9. Was you ever stung by a dead bee?

    daleyrocks (5d22c0) — 5/12/2009 @ 5:07 pm

  10. No, but I was stung on the tip of my nose by a rogue hornet. Hurt like heck and I discovered what I would have looked like if I had been born with Walter Matthau’s nose.

    Dana (4a6e8c) — 5/12/2009 @ 5:14 pm

  11. Mathau and Teddy Swimmer have remarkably similar noses.

    JD (b9ca6b) — 5/12/2009 @ 5:23 pm

  12. I don’t know why ants are attracted to electrical fields, but there you are. And I thought there was another species of ant that was even worse about electrical equipment—“crazy ants” or something. That’s right:

    http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5781180.html

    But there are MANY cases of parasites altering the behavior of their hosts. It’s not “Fringe” or “X-Files” stuff. It’s real.

    http://carlzimmer.com/books/parasiterex/index.html

    Carl Zimmer is a pretty good writer. “Parasite Rex” is very engaging reading!

    It makes me wonder about humans. I read once about a fellow who survived rabies. During the worst part of the infection, he was snapping and biting at people.

    After he recovered, doctors asked him why he was trying to bite people.

    “It seemed like a good idea at the time,” he replied.

    Creepy.

    Eric Blair (262ccd) — 5/12/2009 @ 5:47 pm

  13. daleyrocks, ooooooo, its movie trivia time!

    I love Lauren Bacall by the way.

    SPQR (26be8b) — 5/12/2009 @ 7:15 pm

  14. I never thought I’d be rooting for flies. And by the way, I don’t know which I dislike more: fire ants or DemocRATS!

    Leonardo DaFinchi (8c0a12) — 5/12/2009 @ 7:42 pm

  15. Zombie ants? Reminds me of someone I have met here.

    The Emperor (0c8c2c) — 5/12/2009 @ 7:54 pm

  16. SPQR – Excellent. I figured DRJ would be a Bogart and Bacall fan. Oh well.

    daleyrocks (5d22c0) — 5/12/2009 @ 8:03 pm

  17. daleyrocks, well you hit my favorite movie. My wife won’t let me put it on the Netflix queue more than once a year, I drool too much.

    SPQR (26be8b) — 5/12/2009 @ 8:08 pm

  18. You know how to whistle, don’t you, SPQR?

    Eric Blair (262ccd) — 5/12/2009 @ 8:15 pm

  19. SPQR – I figured stinging by dead bees went with zombie ants. Twisted circuits I guess.

    daleyrocks (5d22c0) — 5/12/2009 @ 8:25 pm

  20. I was waiting to spring the “Say, you’re not so bad, Missy” line on DRJ if she recognized the bee thinger.

    daleyrocks (5d22c0) — 5/12/2009 @ 8:27 pm

  21. daley,

    Movies and movie stars from the 40s and 50s are terrific, aren’t they? But I also enjoy the classic character actors like Walter Brennan.

    DRJ (b0f193) — 5/12/2009 @ 8:55 pm

  22. I like the bit in Key Largo when Humphrey Bogart’s character Frank McCloud is speaking up to the increasingly dangerous Edward G. Robinson’s gangster character Johnny Rocco:

    FM, calmly: “I know what you want, Johnny.”

    JR, with a sneer: “Yeah, what’s that?”

    FM, in a reasonable tone: “You want more.”

    Pause.

    JR with growing enthusiasm: “That’s right. I’ve never had enough. I guess I never will.”

    Sounds like the stimulus package, sort of.

    Eric Blair (262ccd) — 5/12/2009 @ 9:12 pm

  23. I remember blogging on this subject a couple of years ago. You can find video of the fly at work here, if you wish.

    Robert (4094dd) — 5/12/2009 @ 11:36 pm

  24. I KNEW the zombie apocalypse would happen sooner or later!

    Vivian Louise (eeeb3a) — 5/13/2009 @ 7:26 am

  25. No, No, No, the fly larvae don’t turn the Fire Ants into Zombies, they turn them into Democrats! Just look at their behavior: They wander around aimlessly for a couple of weeks, and then their heads fall off. Sounds like Dems to me!

    J. Raymond Wright (d83ab3) — 5/13/2009 @ 7:57 am

  26. nk–I thought that explained the GOP, or maybe Obama’s Cabinet.

    rochf (ae9c58) — 5/13/2009 @ 10:56 am

  27. Comment by J. Raymond Wright — 5/13/2009 @ 7:57 am

    Didn’t Bob Hope have a radio routine along these lines back in the late 30’s or 40’s?

    AD - RtR/OS! (e8f920) — 5/13/2009 @ 11:05 am

  28. this sounds like the setup to a 50s-era b-grade horror flick.

    aphrael (9e8ccd) — 5/13/2009 @ 7:35 pm

  29. Seriously, aphrael, go read “Parasite Rex” or just scan Carl Zimmer’s blog.

    Nature is far weirder (and scarier) than any Roger Corman film.

    Eric Blair (262ccd) — 5/13/2009 @ 7:39 pm

  30. How about a blonde in a library, Eric? Safe for work.

    (Good-looking) Dana, I’m afraid that for the time being that’s all I can recall from my long ago childhood. But … some others may float up.

    nk (a1896a) — 5/13/2009 @ 8:07 pm


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