Tobias is on the job on Santa Cruz Island.
He was once a shelter dog in Montana. But, he’s now an environmental superstar. Tobias is a one of a kind “ant-dog”. He’s the only dog in the world trained to track down a specific invasive species of ant in the wild.
https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/eagles-and-foxes-plants-and-ants/
Students from several High Tech campuses in San Diego are working hard as citizen scientists in a project aimed at mapping the presence and absence of the invasive Argentine Ant. In collaboration with the University of California-San Diego, the Escondido Creek Conservancy, and Cabrillo National Monument – the San Diego Urban Ant Survey looks to quantify both native and invasive ants across San Diego county.
“Floodwaters will not drown fire ants,” explains Paul Nester, an extension specialist at Texas A&M, in a pamphlet titled “Flooding and Fire Ants: Protecting Yourself and Your Family.” Instead, entire colonies of the aggressive biting insects — eggs, larvae and all — will “emerge from the soil, form a loose ball, float, and flow with the water until they reach a dry area or object they can crawl up on.”
For those of you who keep ants, the Ants Australia Shop is NOW OPEN:
Introduction video: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vm6kQnZFJ8Y
Ants Australia SHOP is now open: https://antsaustralia.com/shop/
I am currently looking for Tetramorium queens, good luck this summer!
Eusocial animals raise their young cooperatively while adhering to a strict division of labor—one class reproduces while others may tend to the young or forage for food. Deciphering eusociality could lead to a broader understanding of how complex social systems evolved. Already, Kronauer’s lab has elucidated some of the first genetic underpinnings of ant sociality, and the tools they used to do that could transform how researchers study social insects.
