Patrick Gordon-Contemplation of Ants on the Trail

While walking on the Nolan Trail, I happened upon an anthill. While staring at the orgy of ants, I noticed that there were numerous things going on. Some were building up their home while others brought food; all while in file, then another line disappeared in to the distance. It began to make me think about the unglamorous lives of ants and, for that matter, all insect kind. The way they go about their lives forced me to think about the heartless cruelties of nature. Wasps lay eggs that later hatch inside caterpillars, praying mantis’ lay in camouflage waiting for their unsuspecting prey, while the giant water bug punctures then sucks the liquefied life from a frog. It propels one to think that, if God does indeed exist, why does he let insects do such a thing. Using just the insect world as an example, this question seems to be unanswerable; Annie Dillard herself never asks why of the vultures and sharks. But when it comes to the “eggy world” she asks why of almost every insect she sees.