European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 29, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                ,. 4,. A a. I a. Beheaded Queen still rules by William Booth Washington Post Heire has been an Accident a terrible Accident at the National zoo in Washington. The caretakers at the invertebrate. House Are in Shock. It seems the ants that live in a Glass fronted display Case in the invertebrate House got excited. Quot they May a have been too ambitious Quot said de Smith the Man who cares for the Leaf cutting ants from Trinidad. Quot they May have gotten themselves worked  what the worker ants did quite by mistake was remove the head of their Queen. Apparently the workers were trying to Transfer their egg laying Monarch from the chamber where she has resided since being shipped almost four years ago from the. Cincinnati zoo. Apparently the Hole they were trying to pull her through was Small. The Queen was big. Pop. At least that show Smith re creates the Accident in his mind. No one actually saw it happen. Quot one of the volunteers said Quot hey de take a took at this,1, and i let out a string of . Ant specialists refuse to speculate on whether an ant can feel totally stupid. Basically scientists think of. Ants As amazing Little machines driven by their genes. Which act  with a world that they know largely through smell. A that is Why an interesting thing is no happening at the invertebrate House the workers Are still tending their Queen. Quot they Are continuing to hold her in the a same position a Smith said As Long As she still smells like the Queen they will care for her.�?�. There her body hangs on display her headless. Thorax and Abdomen suspended from the ceiling of her Royal chamber her Back to the roof her legs dangling. Or rather the two legs she has left. The other four mysteriously disappeared the same Day her head did. I. Where is the head Quot we re not sure a Smith said. Did the workers eat it Quot no Quot Smith  Don t think  is it on the trash Heap outside the nest where the. Ants Deposit their dead and discard pieces of their. Fungus Garden Quot no the head is someplace in the  Smith said Quot and wherever u is. I am sure they Are taking Good care of  somewhere nestled among the legs and Loving. A mandibles of her attendants the Queen s Mead is be my cared for. They Are probably Bung my food and trying to feed the head. A guess about Whol they am dog Wlsh the legs would Only be reckless Specula Hon a meanwhile Back in the. Royal chamber what cd is on Public View and can be examined in Guicai detail with a. The Aid of a flashlight and magnifying Glass every Day of m the week except monday and tuesday the Queens a body rests. It would be reckless speculation to infer that she misses her head. A a. A. Smith contends that among insects Heads Are overrated As body parts. Indeed the Queen May have a continued to Lay eggs for hours or even Day softer her head was removed. Quot she seems lobe doing pretty. A Good headless a Smith said. Quot Heads Aren t As a. Important As you might . Still removing the Queens head from her. Body was not a Good idea Smith admits. Sooner or later. A probably in weeks the Queens head and the Queen s body will Stop smelling like the Queen and. Start a smelling dead. Quot the bacteria will Start ,. A s   even Royalty Rols. Thu Colony Over i Yuliy. Is a goner Aquin Tom Hus common trop mul loaf cutting spent scan live As Long As it Voas but without a Goon. Tucio Caribo Nogg v 1 hat is All a Quoon docs she is a visual egg laying machine no eggs to workers 1 he eggs and larvae that am now bomb tended will Grolo ably be to a red by the Forkois. But eventually the j Colony Wii i age and in ally wind Down at present All seems strangely no mat m the Colony. Quot Lite goes on Quot Smith said As  Kablor Ross would put it. The ants seem to be m tie denial stage. A the bigger workers Are still colled my tie leaves Hal sir nth puts out for them and carrying chiselled bits of. Greenery Back to the nest where smaller ants Mast Cate the bits and place them in their gardens where still smaller workers Plant thin ban if of Luhr. A which produce spores that find the Vout like larvae a and workers. A -. A a. Tire in is however Little Chance of the Colony saving itself a. A Smith reports there Are no winged outs in i he. Colony s Brood. Winged forms me the sexual ants the Virgin Queens and males but alas every ant in the nest now is a sterile Gemalo worker with the exception of the a headless Queen who is still full of sperm but who is. Dead. Could t the Colony Lurn a few of the remaining eggs into Virgin Queens yes in fact but there Are still a no males. A for the near future Smith will watch Ever the Colony. It could last a year. Eventually however the a remaining ants will get tossed out on the Lawn beside. The invertebrate House or be put into a Freezer. A new a Queen and a thousand workers will be brought in from. A. The Cincinnati zoo one of a Handlei by zoos with Large. Ant displays to Start a new Colony. But this time Smith will open More Poi Tats into the. Chamber that surrounds the Queen s room. Smith believes the ants Only wanted to move their queer to. Another room because the fungus Garden that grew up a Quot around her was Plas robust As the ants would have liked. In other words the ants were Only doing what. They thought was  a nature May be Beautiful but it is not perfect even an .1 ant can make a mistake a big mistake a a. A stars v and stripes bookstores stars and stripes bookstores Quot not since the naked and the dead has _ the american Soldier been portrayed so powerfully a Jack Higgins author of the  has landed a novel by it it do s it it stars Michael Peterson every War inspires one  exceptional novels the kind of Peerless captures the truth and essence of that particular time and Pace atom a time of War is the novel about Vietnam that everyone should read. Peterson a former me lie Ehan who served with  in Vietnam stars and stripes bookstores in Germany to autograph copies of his Best soiling Book and discuss his own time in combat. Vogel Weh shopping Center a saturday Jan 5. Frankfurt shopping Center a sunday Jan 6 Heide Berg shopping Center a saturday Jan. 12 Al appearances by Peterson Are Between 1 and 3 . A time of War is a stars and stripes top 10 paperback selection for january and will be discounted 10% from the regular cover Pineo. A in Michael Peterson on the Doz in 1968 and stripes bookstores stars and stripes bookstores saturday december 29, 1990 the stars and stripes it Page 17 of t