Myrmecology Dies in Darkness
[UPDATED with a video, below]
Some researchers recently published a study in which they placed Cataglyphis desert ants on treadmills. Check out a discussion of the research here.
Update: In response to a comment by Boshua J’lanchard, here is a video of the treadmill in action:
Many research programs in biology neglect natural history. While investigating sophisticated hypotheses and theories, even very basic information about study organisms remains unknown. This is why a recent paper by Dr. Walter Tschinkel and Daniel Domínguez is so exciting. These researchers, as reported in PLOS ONE last week, photographed and identified most of the seeds collected by the seed-harvesting ant species Pogonomyrmex badius. Their results are a work of art. Below are a few of the beautiful images from their paper (click one to scroll through the slideshow). These represent merely a small subset of the entire diversity shown in the study, so you should definitely check out the rest.
The Daily Ant hosts a weekly series, Philosophy Phridays, in which real philosophers share their thoughts at the intersection of ants and philosophy. This is the second contribution in the series, submitted by Larisa Svirsky. It is inspired by Aesop’s fable, The Philosopher, the Ants, and Mercury.
Larisa Svirsky is a PhD candidate in the philosophy department at University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. Her dissertation is on marginal agents and moral responsibility. She is also known for her penchant for crafting remarkable philosophical limericks.
It is not news that U.S. President Donald J. Trump is no friend of the media or, in fact, any other group of humans. But on Monday, in a shameful statement to the National Governors Association, Trump expanded his attacks on all that is noble by insulting the great ant. This moment was captured well by noted insect photographer and entomologist Alex Wild:
https://twitter.com/Myrmecos/status/836249050794061825
Dr. Wild correctly notes that this statement betrays just how ignorant Trump really is when it comes to issues that matter. As a self-described Christian, the president would do well to heed the words of Scripture and consider the ways of the ant.
Meet Sophie Schofield, Dr. Tom Bishop, and Dr. Kate Parr:
These three ant researchers wanted to know how drastically different environments impact functional traits in ants. So, they found out, and published their discoveries in Myrmecological News in September of last year.
The Daily Ant is launching a weekly series, Philosophy Phridays, in which real philosophers share their thoughts at the intersection of ants and philosophy. This is the first contribution in the series, submitted by Dr. Eli Hirsch.
As a philosopher who knows little about the details of evolutionary theory, I find it hard to understand questions about the evolution of ants. It seems often to be assumed that there are specific features that ants possess because of the “survival value” of such features. This makes very little sense to me. I find it very hard to believe that there are any features at all that can be viewed as having survival value for ants.
Recently, Tube Correspondant Katerina Theodossiou, who is currently undercover working in the United Kingdom, shared with The Daily Ant a series of observations of the T.V. show Santa Clarita Diet. The images she provided are reproduced below:
Every living thing needs nutrients. Much previous work has shown that a variety of soil nutrients – in particular Nitrogen (N), Phosphorous (P), and Potassium (K) – greatly impact plant communities. Often, human behaviors, especially agricultural practices like fertilization, have generated significant shifts in these nutrients. When environments become flushed with these nutrients, overall biomass typically increases but biodiversity often decreases. This is expected according to two hypotheses:
Justin Brierley is host of the “Unbelievable?” programme on the British Premier Christian Radio station. The programme covers matters of faith, often including discussions on the interaction between faith and science. Now, you may be wondering, what does this have to do with ants?
Recently, Fraternal Correspondant and well-known pseudoscientific philosopher Joshua Blanchard reached out to Brierley on Twitter, and our editor-in-chief utilized the opportunity to pop the question:
https://twitter.com/BenDBlanchard/status/829074904456843264
Brierley agreed, and we are happy to report that today, he kept true to his word. Listen below to an expert from Saturday’s show:
Although The Daily Ant does not necessarily endorse the views of some guests on “Unbelievable?”, we appreciate and respect Brierley’s endeavour. Above all else, we fully endorse these words on ants, and hope that humanity may emulate the ways of the ant to resourcefully solve the world’s deepest problems.
Six days ago, we featured a story about ant butts. Five days ago, we featured a quote from a book by Ed Yong. Today, we feature an article by Ed Yong about ant butts: check it out!
An oldie but a goodie, from Alex Wild:
Ants are dominant in a large number of terrestrial ecosystems on every continent outside of Antarctica. One of several reasons for their widespread ecological success is, undoubtedly, their social colonial nature. In fact, ants could be considered metacolonial. This Saturday, spend time considering this excerpt that Fraternal Correspondant Joshua Blanchard discovered in I Contain Multitudes, by Ed Yong:
Ants live in colonies that can number in their millions, but every single ant is a colony unto itself.
EDITORS NOTE: Fraternal Correspondant Joshua Blanchard is a Ph.D. Candidate studying philosophy at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is advised by Dr. Geoffrey Sayre-McCord, who describes philosophy as a “fact-free discipline”.
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