LAKEVILLE – Watch out! Radioactive, mind reading ants have descended upon Lakeville.

The ants made an appearance at the Lakeville Public Library, where they were touted to have “read every book in the world.” 

While the ants were not part of an immense insect infestation, they were part of Boston magician Mike Bent’s magic show at the Lakeville Public Library on Thursday, June 27.

Bent performed his “abrakidabra” show to an outdoor audience at Center Stage outside the library on the hot summer day. The grass in front of the library was packed with blankets and lawn chairs as parents and their kids watched Bent’s 45-minute set.

The show, which was catered to the kids in the audience, was a twist on a traditional magic show, combining comedic characters and mind-boggling magic tricks.

About halfway through the show, Bent introduced the set of intelligent insects likely well-suited for the library. They were “mutant, radioactive, well-read, mind reading ants.”

The “ants” read the mind of nine-year-old Bridgette Gower, who selected a random word from a selection of chapter books. 

Gower chose the word “them,” which she discreetly wrote down on a small chalkboard. Soon after, Bent pulled away a sheet revealing an ant farm containing the colony of ants. 

Sure enough, the tunnels spelled out Gower’s word, “them.”

Bent’s show also included characters like an “annoying” orange, a bear from Build-a-Bear workshop and was sporadically interrupted by comedic “phone calls” containing famous tunes like a song from McDonald’s Filet-o-fish commercial and “Let It Go” from Disney’s Frozen.

Audience members of all ages met Bent’s tricks and cheers with smiles, but especially the kids.

“[The show] was pretty cool, actually,” said Nolan Medeiros, a 10-year-old who volunteered to hold the “annoying” orange in the show.

Most indicative of the show’s success, a group of kids packed the front of the stage after Bent showed off his last trick, asking him to do just “one more trick.”