Right Suborder, Wrong Genus

Spike Towers is finally home to a colony of insects.

Unfortunately it's not the expected arrival of a 5 frame nucleus of Apis mellifera carnica but a surprisingly robust colony of ants. 

And they've decided to take up residence in the bathroom.

There really are quite a lot of them.

Lots of these

LandofSpike supposes that the higher than average rainfall this month has sluiced them out of their usual subterranean home and into the relatively more arid environs of Spike Towers.

At this moment a bitter struggle for territorial advantage is probably raging between the newcomers and the previously dominant silverfish.

This untimely invasion may, however, be opportune, for on his last visit to the Secret Underground Vault which harbours his Empire's Capital Reserves, LandofSpike couldn't help but notice that the coffers were more than unusually empty.

Not many of these

Consequently, LandofSpike is considering postponing his acquisition of a flight of honeybees and adopting, in their stead, the already installed, and therefore significantly cheaper, colony of ants.

AntsofSpike could make perfect sense.

It would mean that emphasis would shift from honey production to a prospective entry into the fledgling formic acid market. 

A FriendofSpike has suggested that he could even diversify into cultivating and marketing that nutritious fungus that the ants produce. 

With careful husbandry and a couple of well placed features in the Sunday supplements, FungusofSpike could possibly become next year's Groovy New Superfood.

LandofSpike could solve World Hunger at a stroke or, better still, get totally minted by opening the World's First Ant Salon and Exclusive AntFungus Restaurant in Primrose Hill.

Or, conversely, LandofSpike could just stop wasting everybody's time with his nonsensical AntTalk and make sure his next post is actually about honeybees.

LandofSpike's Grandiose Vision for a Bee-Filled Future

Land of Bees will, hopefully, document LandofSpike's metamorphosis from Bee Ignoramus into Beemeister Extraordinaire.

That's the plan anyway.

Although it may well end up documenting LandofSpike's succession of failures as he flounders uselessly in an insecty mire of his own making.

Personally, I sorta hope it takes the first route.

LandofSpike intends to complete his Beekeeping course at Apiary Central in the local park, mentored by BeeGurus 1 & 2.

He aims to learn shedloads of useful and impressive bee-related information and, again hopefully, end up with a beehouse full of happily thriving Apis Mellifera in the gardens of Spike Towers.

LandofSpike aims to update regularly with diary notes, diagrams, photos and illustrations, as well as documenting all the sparkling new gems of wisdom that he learns.

He will try to clearly outline his methodology so that anyone else starting out on the same path can take heart that if a duffer like LandofSpike can do it, anyone can.

Sounds pretty simple really, what could possibly go wrong?