Alex Wild on insects, science, and photography
In the news this morning, a story about people who make a tidy living hunting weaver ant brood: Tradition dictates that a Javanese man must possess five things to be a real man: a house, a woman, a horse, a dagger and a caged bird. The obsession with birds has spread to other ethnic groups, [...]
In response to SOPA, I am releasing some of my photographs to the public domain. Like this image? It’s now yours.
The insect news is carrying stories of soldier beetle swarms overrunning Australia: A local Bondi resident, Sandra Bianchi, said she and her husband first noticed the beetles on Tuesday afternoon. ”We were looking out onto the balcony and then all of a sudden there was a swarm,” Mrs Bianchi said. ”There were millions of them. When [...]
Real headlines: And the media wonders why so many people get their news from blogs.
I recently visited my alma matter, U.C. Davis, to give a talk about bug photography. I hadn’t been to Davis since I graduated in 2005. It was good to be back. More than good. I had forgotten how much I missed the wide tree-lined streets, the gardens, the warm community of intellectuals, the chaos of [...]
You wouldn’t think it safe to mail live Malaria mosquitoes around the world. You wouldn’t, I hope, market MedFly as a fun pet. So why would anyone in their right mind do this? Here is a list of known pest ants for sale by the World of Ants store, based in Germany: Pheidole cf. megacephala [listed [...]
I’ve wasted many hours of my life in various Latin American bureaucracies clearing paperwork for the legal exportation of preserved insect specimens. It’s a costly, difficult, time-consuming process, one that is constantly changing as rules shift and new government agencies emerge. We researchers routinely book extra days at the beginning and end of our international [...]
Paraguay is the second poorest country in South America. You’d never know it from visiting some neighborhoods in the capital city of Asunción, though. Shiny new SUVs cruise the streets between the golf course and the yacht club. Boutique malls sell the latest in European fashion. Not a bad country for enjoying the good life. [...]
I don’t own an Apple product. Here I am, typing away on a Windows machine. Still, the news of Steve Jobs’ death is heavy. His creativity and dogged adherence to principle has altered our culture, and for the better. I have no trouble imagining he’ll be remembered along with the likes of Thomas Edison as [...]
This is insane. General Electric- yes, that gargantuan international corporation- accumulated $14 billion in profit last year while paying no federal taxes. For perspective, those of you who bought a print from the Myrmecos galleries this past year (yes- I do sell prints!) contributed more to funding the American government via taxes on my business [...]
A personal weblog by Illinois-based biologist and photographer Alex Wild.
Myrmecos- derived from the ancient greek word for "ant"- hosts Alex's musings about these and other little creatures that share our planet.
Questions? Comments? Email alwild [at] myrmecos.net
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