Boston Flora

Tag: ants

  • Wednesday, April 12, 7:00 pm – The Guests of Ants, Online

    The Athol Bird & Nature Club will host Christina L. Kwapich, PhD, on April 12 at 7:00 pm, both in person and online. This talk will explore the hidden biodiversity inside ant nests, and the behavioral mechanisms diverse parasites employ to infiltrate ant societies. Some intruders tickle ant mouth parts to steal regurgitated meals, while others use specialized organs and glandular secretions to entice ants or calm their aggression. Once able to “speak the language,” these outsiders can masquerade as ants. Suddenly colony members can no longer distinguish friend from foe.

     
    Christina L. Kwapich, PhD is an Assistant Professor of Ecology at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, and the co-author of the book The Guests of Ants: How Myrmecophiles Interact with Their Hosts (2022, Harvard University Press). Her laboratory examines the organization of labor in seed harvesting ant societies, subterranean ant nest architecture, and ant guests. In person at MREC 100 Main Street Athol 01331 or by Zoom You are invited to a Zoom webinar. Topic: The Guests of Ants – Christina L. Kwapich, PhD Register in advance for this webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Z-Y4dR2sTkS3Ta-8BeGBng After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

  • Saturday, July 15, 1:00 pm – 3:30 pm – Ants in Your Plants

    E. O. Wilson dubbed ants “the little things that run the world.” Discover these amazing creatures, led by Elizabeth Farnsworth, a coauthor of Field Guide to Ants of New England. Enjoy a slideshow about their biology, followed by a foray to find many ants. Learn how to identify and appreciate these creatures, which are essential to the life of plants—and humans. This New England Wild Flower Society program will take place Saturday, July 15 in Amherst, Massachusetts, and is cosponsored by the Hitchcock Center for the Environment. $33 for members of sponsoring organization, $40 for nonmembers. Register online at http://www.newfs.org/learn/our-programs/ants-in-your-plants

     

  • Saturday, July 7, 11:00 am – The Ants of Athol

    Honestly, if someone sends us an announcement with great alliteration, nothing will keep us from posting!  The Ants of Athol is a program of the Athol Bird & Nature Club, featuring Aaron Ellison, Ph.D., who will introduce you to some of the local ants at the Allen E. Rich Environmental Park and Cass Meadow. Dr. Ellison is a senior research fellow at Harvard Forest, and is the lead author of the new book A Field Guide to the Ants of New England, copies of which may be available for purchase.  Meet on Saturday, July 7 at 11 am at the park, near 50 Main Street in Athol.  Rain date will be Sunday, July 8.  For more information, contact the speaker at aellison@fas.harvard.edu.