The Daily Ant
Myrmecology Dies in Darkness
Author: Benjamin Blanchard
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Søren Kierkegaard was indeed sore sometimes! Mincing no words in his journal, Kierkegaard reached for an ant metaphor to critique what he perceived as the mediocrity of contemporary Christendom: “Consider first Peter the apostle. He is an apostle and therefore measures a good two feet taller than what we call the mediocre… listen, you battalions of…
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Fans of K-Pop will recognize this group of young men as the world-famous South Korean band “BTS”: Fans of ants will wonder what BTS has to do with ants. It turns out that the boy band’s music label is Big Hit Entertainment, which is going public in a much-anticipated IPO next month. As explained in…
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We really shouldn’t be surprised. Is it even possible that a company with a vertebrate mascot – namely, a gecko – could resist eventually succumbing to myrmecophobia? After all, some geckos eat ants! Whether or not we could have avoided such a fate, witness (if you can stomach it) this Geico advertisement, released early last…
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Marvel at the iridescent coloration of this ant, Rhytidoponera aspersa:
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Some of the most important and critical myrmecological research is the “simple” identification and documentation of what ant species are present in a given region. Such work is in fact quite difficult and time consuming, and the incentive structures of modern academic science typically severely undervalue necessary taxonomic efforts. Thus, much of the world lacks…
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Readers with a mind like a steel trap jaw ant’s mandibles will remember that Poorly Drawn Lines is, without a doubt, the comic strip of record when it comes to formicid-friendly comics. Don’t believe us? Click here, here, here, here, and, if you dare, here. Well, ants have six legs and so it’s only natural…
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It is only natural that our favorite social insects made it into the U.S. television show Community. Thanks to our Tube Correspondant Katerina Pollard – always on the ant T.V. beat – we know that in this case, what is natural is also real. Enjoy this short clip, captured by Correspondant Pollard, from Season 2,…
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According to a 2016 report in The Huffington Post, when winged ants (males and reproductive females) emerge for their nuptial flights, the seagulls go wild. Or, rather, they trip out on the ants’ formic acid. As reported in HuffPo: “Dr. Rebecca Nesbit of the Society of Biology says the ants contain formic acid, which can cause gulls…
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The scientific journal Asian Myrmecology recently announced a delightful and creative new logo. Take a look: The logo was designed by the artistically antspired Runxi Wang (王润玺/王潤璽), a PhD candidate at Hong Kong University. See here for other design work by Mr. Wang.
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The year is 98787980 B.C.E. You gaze upon the reflection looking back at you from a tiny puddle in the soil. It’s a Caputoraptor elegans nymph! You are a Caputoraptor elegans nymph. While scurrying around to find some food, you idly ponder the relatively pleasant and carefree nature of your existence. Mere seconds after you…
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Blessed readers, we are pleased to announce two items of interest to you, the antlightened crowd! First, after too long of a publishing hiatus brought on by an unfortunate combination of distraction and malaise, it is our intention to resume the regular production of premier ant content for general consumption within the next week or so.…
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[This article has been updated with a response from Lyta Gold.] Just a few weeks ago, we penned an editorial taking alleged leftists Katie Halper and Matt Taibbi to task for the egregiously anti-ant content on their podcast. Today, we have much more uplifting news to share: A genuine leftist outlet, Current Affairs, hosted a live stream…
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