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Authors: A. J. Colucci
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“And this is Paul O’Keefe, head of entomology at the Natural History Museum, and his associate, Kendra Hart.”
Kendra’s fist tightened around the water glass.
“The reason I’ve called today’s meeting in this bunker will become clear momentarily. I expect other colleagues will soon be joining us, but for now we’re trying to keep this thing quiet. What you hear today may be shocking, but nothing leaves this room. The last thing we need is a panic on our hands.”
There were hesitant looks among the municipal employees, but the Washington group remained stoic. Kendra was having trouble concentrating. She took a long drink of water and tried to focus on the mayor’s words.
“According to army intelligence,” Russo declared, “a deadly new species of ant has created huge colonies under our streets and may threaten the very survival of New York City.”
Kendra snorted, choking on water. Her laughing eyes darted around the table, waiting for someone to say “just kidding.”
The mayor wasn’t amused.
Pat Dempsey, the burly Irish sanitation director, chuckled too. “Well, you have to admit, John, that sounds a little sci-fi. Why don’t we just shoot them all with ray guns?”
“Pat, you saw what they did to your men,” Russo said with a scowl. “I want you all to listen to Paul O’Keefe. He knows more about ants than anyone on the planet.”
Paul rose from his seat and walked to a podium, as Kendra’s eyes followed the full length of him. He hit a few buttons and a theater-sized screen floated down from overhead and began running a silent film clip. Two ants, projected to the size of elephants, were butting heads over a dead grasshopper. The crowd around the table was instantly alert.
“As vital as they are to the environment,” Paul said with authority, “certain species of ants have been a threat to the health and safety of our country for nearly a century. The worst of these is the imported red fire ant.” Then Paul said something that really took Kendra by surprise. “Professor Hart is really the fire ant expert. I’m sure she’d be glad to give us a brief overview.”
Now everyone was staring at Kendra. She cleared her throat and accepted the challenge. Onscreen a queen fire ant was being tended by a battalion of nurser ants. “The fire ant queen,” Kendra began. “She lays thousands of eggs a day and reproduces other queens through cloning, making an exact replica of herself. Each year, five million Americans are stung by fire ants, which can cause injuries ranging from a painful rash to anaphylactic shock and even death. For nearly a century, they’ve been steadily moving north and the infestation count is now six-hundred million acres. The annual cost to this country is over twelve billion dollars in treatment, loss of crops, livestock and damaged machinery. I suppose it’s lucky for humans the main diet of the fire ant is insects and small mammals.”
A new creature burst onscreen. It had no eyes, just enormous sharp pincers snapping at the camera like an alien in battle. Kendra blinked hard and the word “Siafu” soundlessly left her lips.
“Thank you, Ms. Hart,” Paul said, and once again took center stage. “In contrast, the deadly Siafu of Africa is a vicious man-eater and the only insect known to attack people for the purpose of food. Siafu, also known as driver ants, sweep the forest floor in colonies of twenty-two million. They typically attack their prey en masse by entering the nose and mouth and asphyxiating them. Siafu are blind and react to movement and carbon dioxide; if anything stirs or breathes, they kill it and eat it.” Paul returned to the table. “That’s a brief overview of two of the most deadly insects on the planet. Kendra, if you want to add anything…”
She answered with a cold stare.
“So what’s with the bug lesson, John?” Pat asked the mayor.
Paul replied, “The insects attacking New Yorkers have characteristics of both species,
Kendra’s fist tightened around the water glass.
“The reason I’ve called today’s meeting in this bunker will become clear momentarily. I expect other colleagues will soon be joining us, but for now we’re trying to keep this thing quiet. What you hear today may be shocking, but nothing leaves this room. The last thing we need is a panic on our hands.”
There were hesitant looks among the municipal employees, but the Washington group remained stoic. Kendra was having trouble concentrating. She took a long drink of water and tried to focus on the mayor’s words.
“According to army intelligence,” Russo declared, “a deadly new species of ant has created huge colonies under our streets and may threaten the very survival of New York City.”
Kendra snorted, choking on water. Her laughing eyes darted around the table, waiting for someone to say “just kidding.”
The mayor wasn’t amused.
Pat Dempsey, the burly Irish sanitation director, chuckled too. “Well, you have to admit, John, that sounds a little sci-fi. Why don’t we just shoot them all with ray guns?”
“Pat, you saw what they did to your men,” Russo said with a scowl. “I want you all to listen to Paul O’Keefe. He knows more about ants than anyone on the planet.”
Paul rose from his seat and walked to a podium, as Kendra’s eyes followed the full length of him. He hit a few buttons and a theater-sized screen floated down from overhead and began running a silent film clip. Two ants, projected to the size of elephants, were butting heads over a dead grasshopper. The crowd around the table was instantly alert.
“As vital as they are to the environment,” Paul said with authority, “certain species of ants have been a threat to the health and safety of our country for nearly a century. The worst of these is the imported red fire ant.” Then Paul said something that really took Kendra by surprise. “Professor Hart is really the fire ant expert. I’m sure she’d be glad to give us a brief overview.”
Now everyone was staring at Kendra. She cleared her throat and accepted the challenge. Onscreen a queen fire ant was being tended by a battalion of nurser ants. “The fire ant queen,” Kendra began. “She lays thousands of eggs a day and reproduces other queens through cloning, making an exact replica of herself. Each year, five million Americans are stung by fire ants, which can cause injuries ranging from a painful rash to anaphylactic shock and even death. For nearly a century, they’ve been steadily moving north and the infestation count is now six-hundred million acres. The annual cost to this country is over twelve billion dollars in treatment, loss of crops, livestock and damaged machinery. I suppose it’s lucky for humans the main diet of the fire ant is insects and small mammals.”
A new creature burst onscreen. It had no eyes, just enormous sharp pincers snapping at the camera like an alien in battle. Kendra blinked hard and the word “Siafu” soundlessly left her lips.
“Thank you, Ms. Hart,” Paul said, and once again took center stage. “In contrast, the deadly Siafu of Africa is a vicious man-eater and the only insect known to attack people for the purpose of food. Siafu, also known as driver ants, sweep the forest floor in colonies of twenty-two million. They typically attack their prey en masse by entering the nose and mouth and asphyxiating them. Siafu are blind and react to movement and carbon dioxide; if anything stirs or breathes, they kill it and eat it.” Paul returned to the table. “That’s a brief overview of two of the most deadly insects on the planet. Kendra, if you want to add anything…”
She answered with a cold stare.
“So what’s with the bug lesson, John?” Pat asked the mayor.
Paul replied, “The insects attacking New Yorkers have characteristics of both species,
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