Ants trapped in a Soviet nuclear bunker survived for years (2019) (sciencealert.com)

(2019) with ants

No, they didn't survive for years. They died after a short time, but their ranks were continually replenished by fresh ants falling from a colony above.

So very happy that the story ended with them giving the trapped ants a path back to their colony

Literal hell for ants, until they were saved by a supreme being.

Vyell, fak.

Imagine visiting the basement at Omelas and this happens.

Poor ants.

"Difficult to tell from this vantage point if they will consume the captive Earth-men or merely enslave them...one thing is for certain: there is no stopping them; the ants will soon be here! And I for one welcome our new insect overlords. Like to remind them that as a trusted TV personality I could be helpful in rounding up others to toil in their underground sugar-caves."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4jWAwUb63c

This is the kind of story older ants tell young ones about what happens when you stray into dark and forbidden tunnels.

Why didn't they just climb out the ventilation shaft they fell in? Can’t they walk on the ceiling?

> In 2016, researchers installed a wooden boardwalk (below) in the bunker, connecting the ventilation pipe to the ground. Within four months, nearly all the trapped ants had deserted the bunker floor.

It sort of feels like the ruined a good experiment.

This plotline is reminiscent of the horror plot in Pandorum, but it’s set in the world of ants.