And the Winner is . . . - June 10, 2022

Yesterday as I was sitting in a gazebo on a courthouse lawn, waiting for The Boss to come out so we could go home, I noticed that there were ants crawling around on the floor, the benches, and the railings.  They didn't seem to have a particular destination in mind; they were just strolling around rather haphazardly, zig-zagging here and there.  As I watched, an orange "lady bug" trundled out from beneath the bench where I was sitting and started across the floor.  A big black ant happened to be crawling less than four inches away from the lady bug.  I thought, Uh-oh, lady bug, you'd better run, and before I could scarcely finish the thought, the ant leapt forward and attacked the lady bug head on.  I was sure the lady bug was a goner.

It was a vicious but short-lived battle.  Almost as soon as the ant attacked it retreated, and the lady bug continued on its merry way, eventually disappearing over the edge of the floor and out of sight.  The ant, however, began to stagger around on the floor, as if it was drunk.  It was shivering, and furiously swiping its antennae and legs over its face.  Pretty soon it spat out (I guess) a little piece of something orange.  The ant staggered a little more and spat out another tiny orange bit.  It was still staggering and quivering and swiping at its face when The Boss came out, and we got in the car to start home, so I did not get to see the ant's ultimate fate.

If it died, I imagine its compadres ate it.

Unless it tasted really bad from lady bug juice.