Sometimes when you cut up bamboo for kindling (for the wood stove fire) ya might find a lil' family living inside the hollow & cozy stalk! This whole colony of black ants fell out of a piece of bamboo onto the floor...
In order to get them back together, I took a broom and gently swept them into a dust pan. Bort (co-fire starter) got the idea to put them in a tin can with paper to hide under, and once they settled in there I put the can o' ants in one of my large potted plants so they could re-colonize somewhere more pleasant. :)
XoXo