dusty.ninja

@bryan

This is an amazing video. I don't know off the top of my head why the ants might want a button. It looks like a polymorphic species possibly Pheidole or Messor (it'd help to know the region to get the species)

My first guess is that some buttons are made of horn or bone and maybe the ants want to gnaw on it for protein?

UPDATE: Could it be a fake video? Yes. Can someone just ask over on "xcancel" if it's fake or not (sometimes people will just say)

https://xcancel.com/more_meat_loaf/status/2089358782824595604

@bryan

The problem with the bone theory is that ants will gnaw on such things, but they don't get excited enough to take them back to the nest like this. This is how ants respond to high quality food that they have trouble obtaining.

But maybe in this region it is rare?

Or maybe the ants are making a dress for a forest princess and need some buttons? 😆

@bryan

The man in the video speaks in Russian, and one of the comments mentions that buttons can be made of Casein.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casein

On wikipedia they explain how this material can be made from milk fat. That might be the answer. Some species of Messor live in the eastern and southern parts of Russia and these ants love to collect seeds. So this may be our solution.