Ecitonburchellii are blind and can’t see what’s ahead of them, but they move
40 together in such great numbers that they easily kill the non-army ants, insects,
and other small creatures that constitute their prey.4 When the group happens
upon a break in the path, ants immediately link legs together and form a living
bridge so that the group can move forward without any delay.
In Japanese the word ant is written by linking two characters: one meaning
“insect,” the other meaning “loyalty.” Indeed, individual ants are completely
loyal to their fellow ants. They display many examples of selfless cooperation
that, while certainly extreme, can’t fail to win human admiration.