ABSTRACT
Deep in the woods, amidst the undergrowth and detritus of a forest floor, two distinguished arthropods – renowned in the animal kingdom for their ingenuity and technical accomplishments – have struck up a conversation. One is ANT, the other is SPIDER. SPIDER, more solitary by nature, finds the idea of life in a colony hard to grasp. Curious to know what it means to be social, she resolves to press ANT on the issue. SPIDER’s account reminds ANT of an incident that took place during his winged mating flight, when he very nearly became caught in a spider’s trap. As ANT and SPIDER are conversing on the forest floor – surrounded by what ANT (the network builder) perceives as an assortment of heterogeneous objects and what SPIDER (the web weaver) perceives as a tissue of interlaced threads – something else is going on in the air above their heads.
