Ants live almost everywhere.

The water falling in this mangrove swamp in Australia exposes in the wet mud an ants nest.

Every time the tide recedes, the ants must repair any damage the water may have caused.

Collapsed entrances must be reopened and blocked tunnels cleared.

Now that the mud flats are exposed, the ants hurry to collect what food the tide might have delivered but there are still some stretches of water to be crossed.

The surface tension of the water supports them as they dance across it. Sometimes they actually swim.

And there has indeed been a new delivery of food. But the tide also has created a problem. It has washed away the chemical trails that mark the frontiers of their territory so theres no clear boundary between them and ants belonging to a neighboring colony. The interrogation of a stranger is complex and detailed. Who are you? Where do you come from? Answers are readily given, and accepted.

But every now and then, they have to fight to settle a question. They may have sorted out their disagreement, but now there is a bigger threat to both.

The tide is turning again. They must get back to the safety of their nest. While the tide has been out, larvae and pupae have been moved around the nest to keep them at the temperature needed for their proper development.

Now, they must be moved again, for the nest is not water tight. Many of the chambers and tunnels are flooded with every tide.

Theres no time to waste.

But the water doesnt reach every part of the nest, for the ants have constructed bellshaped chambers that trap pockets of air and so create refuges where the adults and the young can sit out the high tide.

Low tide. High tide.

The tide comes in, then it recedes (goes outand leaves things behind, like dead fish)

When the tide is out, you can see mud flats.

Ant larvae and pupae (eggs and young ants)

Mangrove swamp

Ants nest Nest = colony

Ants fightingants do not like their neighbors, the ants who leave in nests (colonies) nearby.