(Lack of) team work

How did this caterpillar meet its end? Was it bitten to death by the ants? We'll never know.

I came across the dead caterpillar at the Triple Wisdom Buddhist Temple in Pangkor Road, Penang last Sunday. We know that ants can move weights many times their own size and here, the ants were swarming all over the caterpillar and they tried to move it to their nest.

It was a painstaking task. I watched the ants struggle for most part of 30 minutes and in the end, they barely covered two inches of ground. The ants were uncoordinated and most of the time, they were simply moving the carcass in circles.