The School of Ants

Andrea Lucky

Of course you do.

But probably not as much as Andrea Lucky, the "Queen of  Ants."

(Or as much as Phil Ward, her major professor at UC Davis or Alex Wild, the Illinois-based biologist and insect photographer who also studied with Ward. Both Lucky and received their doctorates in entomology from UC Davis.)

Lucky, now on the faculty of the Department of Biology, North Carolina State University, is spearheading the School of Ants project, housed in the lab of Rob Dunn. 

What's it all about?

It's a citizen-scientist driven study of the ants that live in urban areas, particularly around homes and schools, Lucky says.

Anyone can participate: teachers, students, parents, junior scientists and just plain (and fancy) ant enthusiasts.

The project involves collecting ants in backyards and schoolyards "using a standardized protocol so that we can make detailed maps of the wild life that lives just outside (or even in) our doorsteps," Lucky says. The data-rich maps "will tell us  a lot about native and introduced ants in cities, not just here in North Carolina, but across the United States and, as this project grows, the world!"

Many folks, Lucky says, have asked her about contributing to the project, so there's now a SciFund Challenge and donations are being accepted. "Our fundraising campaign has just six days left," she says, "but of course the project goes on past that deadline."

And the spectacular ant photos on School of Ants website were generously provided by...drum roll...Alex Wild.

Between the photos and the text, there's a wealth of information about ants on the site.

All in all, it's good to see citizen scientists monitoring ants. Ants don't share the same PR image as ladybugs, butterflies and native bees, also tracked by citizen scientists.

Myremecology matters.

One, two, three, all together now, can you say "Myrmecologists"?