Archive for the ‘entomology’ Category

Farmers, Warriors, Builders: The Hidden Life of Ants

Friday, June 19th, 2009

The Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History has mounted a small new exhibit, Farmers, Warriors, Builders: The Hidden Life of Ants. Michele and her daughter and I took the morning off from Artomatic and checked out it yesterday. Ants dominate the small-scale world. We may seldom notice them, but ...

Ant installation at the Central Florida Zoo

Wednesday, March 19th, 2008

On a recent trip to the Central Florida Zoo, I ventured into the Massey Insect Zoo. I can't believe I almost missed the installation of giant ants on the pipe near the high ceiling: It was really great. How big are the ants? Scroll down on this page and you can ...

It’s what’s for dinner!

Saturday, March 15th, 2008

Bugs You Can Eat

“I don’t think our director would be too happy if we burned down the surrounding subdivisions, but I’d love to torch the savanna.”

Saturday, December 29th, 2007

Today's Washington Post has an obituary for Robert Franklin Whitcomb, who was a research entomologist at the USDA's Beltsville Agricultural Research Center. (That's the mysterious place you pass on your way up to BWI airport when you're on the BW Parkway). (Whitcomb) who identified more than 50 new species of leafhoppers ...

Master of the Killer Ants

Tuesday, November 20th, 2007

This week on Nova: Master of the Killer Ants. Although known for their ruthless aggression, driver ants also have a beneficial side. This is traditionally exploited by the Mofu people of northern Cameroon, who call the local species of red driver ants jaglavak. ... "Master of the Killer Ants" tells the story ...

Ontogeny’s Friday Ant Zen

Friday, October 12th, 2007

Myrmecos.net brings us this awesome action photo of army ants preying on a queen they've dragged out of a colony they're raiding. [link via Matt Dowling's Blog, Ontogeny]

Curators’ Favorites

Monday, October 8th, 2007

The Washington Post ran a special "Museums" section on October 7th, and in the featured article, "Curators' Favorites: No Cookie-Cutter Ideas Here" they asked local curators what some of their favorite objects are. This article met the definition of being phoned-in in every sense of the phrase. All ...

New leads on the mystery of Colony Collapse Disorder

Saturday, September 8th, 2007

Researchers are reporting on the discovery of a virus, Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus, that is moving to the top of the list of suspects as scientists work to unravel the mysterious demise of millions of bees. MSNBC Science Editor Alan Boyle has a thorough piece online reporting on these latest ...

Antomology

Saturday, September 1st, 2007

The Audobon Naturalist Society has an upcoming program about ants: Antomology: An Introduction to the Natural History of Backyard Ants Thursday, September 13 (7:30 - 10 pm) Leader: Jill Swearingen Explore the underground world of one of our most important, ubiquitous, and overlooked families of insects. We will focus on ants found in the ...

The Bug Guy on Kojo

Wednesday, July 18th, 2007

Today while we were in the car we heard the Bug Guy on Kojo's show on WAMU. The Bug Guy Do the leaves on your trees look like swiss cheese? We'll find out about the gypsy moth attack Maryland's currently suffering through -- the worst in more than a decade. And we'll ...