Alex Wild on insects, science, and photography
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 [...]
The U.N. has released a brief report (pdf) on the global state of pollinators. As with most such reports, it only contains substantive information about one species, the western honey bee, as data do not exist for the vast majority of other pollinators. The report contained this figure, which I have modified to indicate the [...]
The media is reporting that Milton Levine, inventor of Uncle Milton’s Ant Farm, has died at age 97. The Ant Farm was one of those little inventions that amplified through American pop culture, bequeathing its name not just to a kitsch toy but as a societal metaphor, working its way even into band names.
Ho, ho, ho!
I see that Andrea Lucky’s high-altitude Strumigenys made TIME’s “Top 10 Everything” list for 2010: One of 200 new species discovered in Papua New Guinea, the tree ant makes its home about 1.8 mi. (2.9 km) above sea level. Conditions can be tough at such nosebleed altitudes, and the ants are thus adapted to both [...]
Perhaps you’ve been following the saga of Ant Jesus. I blogged this earlier and have been watching the subsequent kerfuffle when the Smithsonian pulled the video. The clearest way to understand why Ant Jesus caused such a stir, I’ve concluded, is to forget about issues of iconography, art, and cultural identity. Instead, follow the money. [...]
Ants are in the news today. The Smithsonian Institution has a new exhibit, “Hide/Seek”, that includes a short film of a tiny Jesus statue crawling with ants. Apparently the artist was exploring the angst of HIV infection in the context of Mexican culture*, or some such. An impressive wave of public protest followed, and this [...]
I bet those drones really hurt, too…
Apparently they do: The Obama administration has credited its $862 billion stimulus program with pulling the economy out of the worst recession since the Great Depression. But a new report by two Republican senators argues the stimulus is riddled with wasteful projects that do not create jobs. The report, released by Sens. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., [...]
Have Australians lost their fight against imported fire ants? Despite $215 million being poured into eradication programs nationally, fire ants have claimed territory in an arc from Logan City, between Brisbane and the Gold Coast, to near Grandchester, about 80km west of where the first outbreak was found at the Port of Brisbane in 2001. Authorities [...]
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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