From: Steve (Primus) (Avatar) 30/10/2001 5:53:25 Subject: re: STEVE'S WEATHER FAQ post id: 476428 Why do ants come out and run around crazy when it is going to rain? Ants do not anticipate rain but they react to it. There is no evidence that ants know it is going to rain. A study done by a contributor to this forum showed, at least, that ants in southwestern WA had no idea it was going to rain before they got well and truly soaked by the remains of Tropical Cyclone "Steve". Once the rain has started, the ants are busy bringing eggs and larvae up from flooded tunnels and repairing collapsed tunnels. The often cited "building up their nests before rain" is in fact the ants removing dirt from collapsed tunnels after the rain has started. Maybe they sense a barometric pressure drop??? Not all rain events are accompanied by falling pressures. There is tidal variation in the atmosphere as well which, in the tropics, is greater than any other pressure change apart from tropical lows. How do ants distinguish between diurnal variation and rain events? I am not saying they can't all I am saying is that we don't know. Until someone does a proper experiment, which is then done again by a few other people, all the anecdotal evidence isn't worth anything.