[IC] Chapter 2-5: You're whirling 'round...

[DM Surranó]

Just in case it wasn't clear enough: space-wise, it's not a tough call to squeeze through the mushrooms to avoid the ants guarding their prize. It's like a dense forest, you have to watch your steps and proceed slowly. There are no insects among the mushrooms nearest to the party, at least none anyone would've noticed. The option of chopping down mushrooms to create a new, wider path is also valid. To bypass the ants while staying on the existing path, on the other hand, seems to be a difficult task; the party would need to pass within melee reach of the nasty antsies.