Lava Buds

Lava Buds are tiny ants that hunt beneath the surface, eating lava on volcanic slopes. They often live in tunnels eating lava.

1. 29 November 2014: Moses and Daniel Brett.

2. 19 February 1995: Lukus Adams.

3. 1924- 1925: Jake Raxora, Jacquline Aston.

4. 18 October 1917: Jake Assry, James Epillexit.

5. 12 January 1915: Cass Dredreoc.

6. 13 December 1892: Michael Holborn.

7. 1 August 1840: Peter Holborn, grandfather of Michael.

8. 29- 31 January 1799: Adan Cadwick.

9. (see above).

10.(see above).

11. James Gibbchy: 29 August 1705.

Adan Cadwick's Death
Adan Cadwick died in North Yorkshire in February 1799 of a bite from poisonous lava buds. Adan was a farmer in the county. Adan was bitten 3 days in a row. He died on 2 February 1799 (aged 34), with a cigarette in his mouth.

Physiology
Lava Buds have strong bony heads and mandibles that can withstand extremes of temperature. Thus they are able to feast upon newly spewed volcanic ash as well as older falls.

They have three stomaches, the first to cool any hot ash (ash passes through the first stomach quickly if already cool), the second stomach releases enzymes to break down the ash and the third extracts carbon and other minerals essential for Lava Bud growth and good health. When the conditions are just right (very hot and new ash with a high carbon content, and young Lava Buds with tight and muscular stomaches) then Lava Buds will poo diamonds. This is however rare and more often than not their faeces are just a dry dust that blows from their bums.

Lava buds have feet that are known as asbestoes and from which modern asbestos was first derived and then later modelled (before causing Builders Lung and getting banned). It is said that if you sniff a Lava Bud's feet then you will attain special powers of heat proofing but that you will die young. It is a tempting but perilous payoff.

Mythology
Lava Buds have appeared in a number of ancient and modern mythologies and legends over the years.

They are thought to be the 'Hadanaes Budular' that Pliny The Elder wrote about. Such writings that now give rise to theories of the ruin of Pompeii having been foretold in folklore but never directly recorded in literature.

Tommy Lee Jones incorrectly refers to Lava Buds as 'Lava Bugs' during the 1997 disaster movie 'Volcano' in a deleted scene that is held in archive by the BFI.

In Indonesia (a notoriously seismically active part of the world) Lava Buds are mythologised in a modern day cultural concatenation with the western notion of St Nicholas (or Santa Claus) to produce the story of Api Hadiah Lalat, or the Fire Gift Fly. It is said that during the last days of December that Api Hadiah Lalat will visit children across the archipeligo offering gifts in exchange for sulpher. This puts many children at great risk as they attempt to mine sulpher to receive these gifts. In an expose for Channel 4's Dispatches recently it was alleged that Swan Vesta were behind this modern day myth in order to reruit cheap child labour to supply sulpher to their match factories.