a few links to tide you over...

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!

Insects In Flagrante

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.

Colony as Art

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.