This is Pepper, the carpenter ant. Since she was the most recent to escape she now has the green mark of shame (and a name “Peppermint”) She is a very small minor worker. She climbed the tweezers to explore my hand. She has been returned to the colony and it will be interesting to see if she is as bold as Tulip. (who has a pink dot, and who is quite a bit larger— although neither are majors.)
Pepper is the most dusty ant I’ve ever seen. #namedAnts
Painting ants makes me think of the Painted Soldiers in The Wandering Inn. (A web serial about a fantasy world - several of the main characters are Antinium, giant ants. They have workers, soldiers and other types, and as the soldiers can't talk, later in the book they paint their shells to name themselves.)
@futurebird the carpenter ants are making their yearly exploration of our home since they have such a nice colony outside. I try to catch them all to set back outside, but the cats are catching them too
Pica will eat ants. She doesn't seem to enjoy them, but when she sees a bug it's a whole "thing" -- so it's not a great idea for them to wander around in the apartment. It's dangerous!