An elderly Chinese woman was greeted with an unwelcome sight when she checked the retirement fund she’d been keeping in a box for years.
She was mortified to discover that about 40,000 Yuan (£4,200) of her life savings had been mashed up into tiny pieces and was no longer useable, reports the Daily Mail.
Her initial thought was that the money had been stolen but, according to the People’s Daily Online, the pensioner – surnamed Rao – was told by police that, unbelievably, her money had been eaten by ants.
The mischievous little guys had also destroyed two bank books which had been in her wooden savings box, even though Rao said that the retirement money she had been saving was put into plastic bags before being placed inside the wooden box.
The last time Rao opened the box was early 2015 so, in a year, the ants had managed to get into the box, munch through the bags and then eat the cash – only leaving behind the metal strips from the notes.
The investigation found that after the ants had initially got inside the box, they made a nest and laid eggs. When those hatched the only source of food they had was the money and paper from the books, so they ate the lot.
It’s thought that the culprits were Carpenter Ants who, according to Pestkill.org, can even tunnel through house walls, causing massive damage.
Maybe keep your cash in the bank from now on?
