JIM CONRAD’S NATURALIST NEWSLETTER
Written in Sabacché and issued from a “ciber” in
Tekit, Yucatán, MÉXICO
September 29, 2008
*****
BIRD FEAST, COURTESY OF ARMY ANTS
Last Monday our rainy-season drought came to an end;
suddenly the weather is exactly as it should be, most
mornings very humid and fairly cloudy, storms building
in the afternoons, a brief electrical storm around 4
PM, then drizzle on and off, sometimes heavy rains
coming out of nowhere in early evening. Saturday
morning after a night of showers as I returned from
jogging at dawn it was so cool — 74° F (23° C) –
that men were wearing their sweatshirts.
The Maya say that rains make the ants move, and that
seems to be the case. They’re referring to army ants,
which we’ve often seen before. Several army-ant
stories are linked to on my Mexican Insects page at
http://www.backyardnature.net/
So, Saturday morning as I was hiking out of town I
paused along the road to figure out why in that spot
several birds seemed to be hanging around. Then came
that too-familiar burning, stinging sensation down at
the feet: I was standing in a river of army ants.
