Go on an ant walk in Chennai

Some queen ants can live up to 30 years. 
| Photo Credit: DEEPAK KR

Ants are among the creatures on our planet that are taken for granted. Understandably so: they are everywhere. But if we slow down to focus on a trail of ants, we can get a glimpse into their world that is filled with purpose and order. Chennai-based Palluyir Trust for Nature Education and Research has documented 34 species in and around the city in its latest handbook Ants of Chennai. The bilingual handbook describes each of these species with photos, talking about their distinctive features, food preference, habitat, and foraging behaviour.

Palluyir, founded by naturalist Yuvan Aves, was started with the purpose of developing Nature-based curricula for school children. The trust has been working with Government and private schools in the city, taking children on Nature walks within Corporation parks, teaching them about the natural world through various modules the team has developed.

Ants play a crucial role in soil aeration and also transport nutrients 
| Photo Credit:
KARTHIKEYAN G

“We develop a new module once in six months,” says Aravind Selvam of Palluyir, adding that they have modules on frog calls, bird calls, leaf adaptation, and pollinators, among others. Among these, the ant module was a hit across multiple schools,” he adds. The team has also been working with 40 Government school teachers from across Tamil Nadu in collaboration with the Institute of Mathematical Sciences.

The Ants of Chennai handbook
| Photo Credit:
Special arrangement

“A common feedback we received from these teachers was that they do not have Nature in their campuses anymore,” he says. The ant module helped them work around this problem. “Unlike birding that requires one to travel to a waterbody or buy a pair of binoculars, ants are accessible. We needn’t even step outside to watch ants,” says Jomi Jose from Palluyir.

The team started documenting ants in Chennai a year ago, coming up with educational posters for children. “We decided to develop a guidebook since we found a lot of species,” she adds. The book can be used by anyone interested in the natural world. “It will help adults observe ants in their neighbourhood; they can identify and differentiate between various species,” explains Aravind. Some species that can be found in the city include the ring-bum ant, trap-jaw ant, procession ant, hunchback ant, fuzzy pavement ant, among others.

Ants do not disturb us if we don’t interfere in their existence.
| Photo Credit:
Special arrangement

Palluyir has held four ant walks for adults over the past two months, and the team has seen people’s outlook on ants change. “They start looking at ants differently,” says Gowtham Marimuthu who has held ant walks. “They understand how the absence of even the tiniest creatures can cause an imbalance in the ecosystem,” he adds. “People begin to look at ants as something more than insects that take away their food.”

Ants, says Gowtham, do not disturb us if we don’t interfere in their existence. “They play a crucial role in soil aeration and also transport nutrients,” says Jomi, adding that ants form a biological pest control system by eating grasshoppers and caterpillars. Another fascinating aspect about ants is that like humans who rear cattle, they too rear smaller creatures. Aravind explains that ants raise insects that excrete honeydew, moving them with them as they move along. “They sometimes snap the wings of these mini bugs so that they don’t fly away,” he says. “They’ve been doing this for millions of years, even before humans started agriculture.”

Some queen ants he says, can live up to 30 years. Aravind feels once people learn about ants, they develop an organic bond with the insects, and thereby empathy. “If they feel something is off when they see thousands of ants dead for no reason because of a chalk, our job is done,” he says.

The Ants of Chennai handbook is priced at ₹200 and is available on palluyirtrust.org. Visit them on Instagram @palluyir_trust for information on upcoming ant walks in Chennai.