Tiny creatures mating causes entire village to lose internet connection

One villager called the incident a "disaster" .

Tiny creature causes chaos in a village in western Germany. (Photo: Pitopia).

Bild (Germany) reported on June 19 that ants caused chaos in the village of Altweinholzchen , near the town of Waldenburg, western Germany, after they mated and multiplied, causing the Internet system to be interrupted.

A telecommunications and Internet cable junction box for the village was damaged by an ant nest.

The lack of internet has angered many villagers, who have been unable to make phone calls or work online all week. 

"This is a disaster! The whole village lost internet and phone service , " Manfred Wörl, a 66-year-old villager, told local media .

A cable junction box in the village of Altweinholzchen damaged by an ant nest. (Photo: Deutsche Telekom)

Matthias Nuss, an entomologist, explains that ants usually mate in the spring. After mating, they look for a new nest. 

Since ants prefer to live in dark, narrow spaces, the cable junction boxes of your local telecommunications provider are ideal homes for them. 

"The babies will stay in the cable junction box because they see it as a cave," Matthias told local media. 

While living in the cable junction box, the ants secrete a substance containing 2mg of formic acid - which is capable of corroding metal and cables . This substance helps the ants to be safe from natural enemies. 

According to local media, this year alone, Telekom, the company responsible for the cable junction boxes in the area where Altweinholzchen is located, has recorded five incidents of internet and telecommunications connections involving ants. Georg von Wagner, a Telekom spokesman, said the ants were crawling on the electronic components of the cable junction boxes, leading to short circuits.