January 20, 2016 at 03:05AM

Aw man, just learned another TIL-worthy fact. When worker ants of the genus Pogonomyrmex encounter each other in the field, they will often skirmish briefly before separating. However, Pogonomyrmex mark a roughly circular region around their nests, designating a sort of "core" area. If a Pogonomyrmex in its core area encounters another Pogonomyrmex, it will very aggressively fight and recruit other ants. Usually, the foreign ant will assume a submissive posture, and then the home-turf ants will drag, carry, or haul it out of their core area and release it. How civilized! I have no idea what happens if two Pogonomyrmex colonies are moved so that their core areas overlap. I assume some sort of thermonuclear war erupts.