Hello everybody
I hope you are all getting ready for a good time at Christmas.
My Myrmica rubra are currently entering their hibernation phase. Their activities have slowed to scarcity and the queen has stopped laying eggs. Of all the species in the UK Myrmica rubra probably remain the most active during the hibernation phase, or at least that is certainly true of all the species of ant I have kept over the hundreds of years since I kept my first colony as a kid.
I also wanted to tell you about a new game I have purchased for my PS5 called Empire of the Ants. I believe it was released in October/November of this year. It is based on the novel Empire of the Ants by Bernard Werber.
I have only just started playing the game but I am really enjoying it. I think it’s the first ant game I have played since SimAnt.
The graphics are really very good and the gameplay is good fun. You play the part of an ant (looks like a species of red wood ant) and it is your job to carry out various missions all centred around ensuring your colony survives the harsh environment.
It’s a kind of strategy game where not only do you control your individual ant, but you also control your colony’s workers and armies. In fact not just your own colony but others too. It seems you can call on other species of ants to help you. For example, you can call on “gunner ants” that squirt formic acid at their enemies. You have to build up your empire, protect it from enemies and expand it.
Here’s a link to the official launch video: