Skogsglänta med myrstack - Livstens-leden

One of the seven key words of pilgrimage is slowness. What is seen, heard and felt?

The path runs through a forest landscape that was previously pasture land. There are plenty of juniper bushes, which thrive on just such land where they get space and light. Here and there the mountain is exposed, what we see are small islets in what was once an archipelago before land uplift had done its work.

We stop right at the unusually large anthill. When we see an anthill, we see only the tip of an iceberg. Below it are millions of individuals. The stacks build the ants to regulate heat and protect the larvae when the winter cold sets in. Ants are nature's cleaning crew, eating aphids and other pests.

They clear footpaths in the forest so that they can move around easily. They communicate via scent, pheromones, which humans are also said to do, but on a more unconscious level.

Some ant species have formed slave and master societies. The slaves do all the housework, but never participate in the raids outside the stacks. The master ants may become so accustomed to the care of the slaves that they die of starvation, even though they are surrounded by food, if they are separated from their slaves!