GigaPan ant

I'm not totally clear on what GigaPan is, but check out this awesome panorama photo of Eutetramorium mocquerysi from Madagascar.
In which I will be keeping track (for my own benefit) of my daily progress in the identification of the ant fauna of Tiputini Biodiversity Station in Ecuador, the analysis of that data, and the pursuit of my PhD. And (for the benefit of everyone else) I hope to provide helpful information on ants, taxonomy, database management, identification, and other assorted endeavors. Cheers

I'm not totally clear on what GigaPan is, but check out this awesome panorama photo of Eutetramorium mocquerysi from Madagascar.
Posted by
Kari T. Ryder Wilkie
at
12:33 AM
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Not exactly Rocket Science has a very interesting post entitled How research saved the Large Blue Butterfly. Hint: first they had to save some ants.
Bug Girl's Blog comments on Pseudonyms and anonymity with a really nice quote from Charles Darwin: "I am dying by inches, from not having any body to talk to about insects..." Very nice.
From ScienceDaily comes news that Linnaeus invented the index card. Who knew?
Myrmecos has a wonderful post about the difference between Smithistruma and Pyramica.
The New York Times has an interview with Bert Holldobler.
And, just for kicks, I gotta give props to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, an NBA development team. Go check out their website! Love the theme, from the tagline "join the invasion" to the kids club "ants army" to the cheerleaders "Madame Ants." Not to mention the awesome mascot "The Mad Ant" (see above). Rock on!
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Kari T. Ryder Wilkie
at
5:05 PM
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More insect sex here.
And, while we're on the subject of animal sex, Isabella Roselini's Green Porno is now in its second season! If you haven't experienced this, you must do so now. Go. Now. Watch the whale one.
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Kari T. Ryder Wilkie
at
12:57 PM
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There is a new ant exhibit at the Smithsonian, which features, among other things, Walter Tschinkel's lovely casts of ant colonies. Which reminded me of a recent post on BoingBoing featuring Hilary Berseth's beehive art. The article, explaining how he gets his bees to build their honeycomb structure in just a certain way, is fascinating. And check out the Smithsonian website for a nice photo gallery of where ants live.


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Kari T. Ryder Wilkie
at
7:04 PM
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Which of the following headlines are real (real as in they are the titles of serious news stories)
Posted by
Kari T. Ryder Wilkie
at
3:37 PM
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Photo: Christmas Bird Count (Pool) Flickr group(CNN) -- As a hobby, Suzie Jirachareonkul, a teacher and mother of two, spends many of her nights searching for endangered toads on the country roads near her home outside Cape Town, South Africa.
She often finds them flattened on the street.
"They're so beautiful and it's just really hard to live with, especially when you're living on the road right here," the 33-year-old said of the toad deaths. "So we started doing something about it. We started saving them off the road in the middle of the rain."
When a scientist caught onto her efforts, Jirachareonkul and a friend assembled about 20 volunteers -- a group she calls the "Toad NUTS" -- to collect data on the endangered Western Leopard Toad.
The information they collect is being used in scientific research.
Read more here
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Kari T. Ryder Wilkie
at
10:00 AM
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Diversity of ground-dwelling ants in primary and secondary forests in Amazonian Ecuador
Kari T. Ryder Wilkie, Amy L. Mertl & James F.A. Traniello
Posted by
Kari T. Ryder Wilkie
at
11:36 AM
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