On the second day after the late spring cold wave hit, the protagonist took advantage of the warm weather at noon to go outdoors.
At this time, due to the warm sunshine, the outdoor temperature is still acceptable, and most ants also take advantage of this rare and suitable time of the day to go out to work.
The protagonist noticed that there were many corpses of frozen insects under the vegetation not far from the nest. There were various types of insects, both flying and crawling. It seemed that they had not survived the first winter of late spring cold. .
The big-headed ants who went out to forage happily carried these readily available foods back to their nests. However, they did not move the corpses of these insects into the granary at the end of the nest. Instead, they placed them on the sunny open ground outside the nest to dry.
After questioning, the protagonist learned that these frozen insect corpses are usually contaminated with dew or moisture, and often have a large number of bacteria or parasites in their bodies. Moving these carcasses back to the nest may cause disease, and it would be a shame to abandon them without eating them. Therefore, ants will disinfect them by drying them in the sun, which can also extend the shelf life of food.
The protagonist still admired the hygienic habits of the ants, but he immediately ordered that the meat of these frozen insects should not be added to the food specially for his own consumption. This is completely out of habit, just like in his previous life as a human being, he would not eat chicken, duck, pig, or beef that died abnormally. Who knows what is unclean in it.
On the second day, the late spring cold not only did not subside, but became more severe. At four or five o'clock in the afternoon, the ants who were out and about retreated back to their nests while the sun had not set and the temperature was still warm.
That night, the north wind was still howling, and the room temperature in the nest was rapidly decreasing. "Linshui City" continues to increase the fuel supply to the combustion chamber. Fortunately, there is no shortage of fuel after the beginning of spring and can withstand such consumption. In addition, the protagonist had to order some ventilation entrances and exits to be blocked with plant fibers to prevent the cold wind from pouring directly in through the mouths.
On the second, third, and fourth days, the power of the late spring cold finally fully emerged.
On the ground as far as the eye can see, corpses of frozen insects can be seen everywhere, densely packed as if covering the entire world.
There are huge adult insects, newly hatched larvae that have not yet pupated, and incomplete metamorphosis of spiders that look like miniature adult insects. Without exception, they have all lost their vitality. At sunrise every day, some corpses even contained ice crystals, indicating their tragic fate last night. Under the cruel judgment of nature, all creatures are so equal in the face of death.
On the other hand, the fate of aquatic insects is better. Thanks to the physical properties of water, even in the coldest early morning, the surface of the river will not freeze, but will maintain a relatively high water temperature.
Because of this, the river has become a paradise for various aquatic insects. Various insects that are natural enemies of each other have to reluctantly gather together at this moment, and briefly coexist with an extremely high density and a strange peaceful atmosphere to cope with the cruelty. natural threats.
Plants also suffered widespread frostbite under the severe cold.
The newly grown leaves of many plants have been damaged by low temperature, and various similar or different symptoms appear, such as: black spots appear on the leaves, the leaves begin to wither, turn yellow, or even wither and fall, the branches and leaves become soft, and water spots appear on the petioles. piece.
This is still an early sign of frostbite. If the weather does not continue to worsen, the plants can still repair themselves. However, if the low temperature weather is not relieved, the root systems of many plants will also be irreversibly damaged.
But in general, plants are better able to withstand spring cold than insects.
This season was originally a world where flowers were blooming all over the mountains and plains, but now most of the buds failed to open on time, some fell off, and some closed tightly.
Bees have their own nests that provide shelter from wind and rain, and they also collectively vibrate their wings to raise the temperature. It stands to reason that they would not be afraid of the late spring cold wave if they were hiding in their nests.
However, the food in the newly established bee colonies in spring is very tight. In order to find food, the bees would rather venture out and look for flowers that can also provide nectar sources to feed the hungry group.
This kind of foraging is doomed to suffer heavy losses. Many bees that stop flying and come down to collect honey will be quickly frozen, and in the end they will not be able to even spread their wings and take off.
There are several dead bees under each flower, and the bright flowers are like cemetery tombstones for the bees.
Only the bees that come out to collect honey at noon can bring a little bit of food to the bees that are waiting for food, but this is a drop in the bucket.
Only then did the protagonist begin to realize the potential harm of this late spring cold. In such a spring when all things multiply, the cold wave is like the god of death wielding a frost sickle, taking innocent lives wantonly.
Moreover, this sickle is long-term. When a large number of plants and insects die, both plants and insects will appear extremely sparse this year.
Perhaps for some solitary herbivorous insects, this means less intense competition for survival. But for ants that need to support a large number of group members, it means an increase in the difficulty of foraging.
It looks like this year is going to be a lean year.
Thinking of this, the protagonist couldn't help but become anxious.
The situation in "Dongyangcheng" will be relatively better. Due to its well-established mealworm farms and farmland, a large number of mealworm eggs, fly eggs and grass seeds were properly stored in the ant nest last autumn. Even if there is no food from the wild this year, as long as farmland and breeding farms are opened, it will be enough for the current size of the ant colony to make a living.
But for other nests, including the main nest with a large number of ant colonies, the main food comes from gathering and hunting. This late-spring cold, which affects a large area and is highly lethal, will cause a serious food crisis for these nests.
Food is the foundation of the ant kingdom. Without food, it would be quite difficult to support the existing ant colony, let alone support the war with the paving ant barbarians.
In modern human society, if faced with famine, bad situations such as an increase in crime rates and a decrease in government control will occur. In ancient times, famine caused by natural disasters would create a large number of refugees, threaten social stability, and even become the trigger for the change of dynasties. The Ming Dynasty perished due to refugees, and even more so due to the harsh climate of the Little Ice Age.
In the animal world, natural disasters can also have bad effects.
In years when food is scarce, competition among animals of the same species, or species with similar foods, intensifies. Some species that cannot adapt to this fierce competition may be eliminated from the area, or even the entire population becomes extinct.
