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School of Ants Map - Lasius Ant healthy plant growth. Just like the engineers who press our world and help it flow, Lasius ants churn and build wherever they live. When was the last time you rode over a bridge or walked into a building and thought, “Gosh, isn’t it nice? I’m not afraid this building/bridge will collapse on me”? Probably never. We don’t think about it because we don’t have to. Thanks to our engineers, things work. North American distribution of the Lasius ant (Lasius alienus). Visit www.schoolofants.org/species/1852 for an interactive version. Lasius ants are among the first species to pop their tents in disturbed areas, and from the moment they move in, they start turning the soil and making the ground ready for life. They burrow their tunnels into the soil, tripling soil respiration, the soil’s ability to “breathe,” compared to non-Lasius areas. They do such a good job at aeration that more insects and spiders move into those Lasius-affected, loosely compacted, fresh-air areas, which has a cascade of positive effects on the ecosystem around them. They carry dead insects and sweet treats from one place to another, spreading out some soil nutrients and concentrating others, which increases all kinds of chemical and biological processes. They even help fix nitrogen, an important chemical for The same goes for soil in our natural areas. We seem to only pay attention to our soil when it stops working well, plants die, animals move out and the soil actually becomes stone dead. Our Lasius engineers, like my husband and the engineers that reinforce and shape our human-made world, don’t seem to mind that we don’t notice. They don’t need us to shower them with thanks, but they do need us to give them the space and resources they need to do their best work. Keep your eyes peeled for volcanoes on the putting green or in your city’s medians. See if you can spot a sesame seed waddling out. Give it a salute as it passes by, conducting its business of building and bettering our world. 31
4 Pavement Ant Tetramorium sp.E Pavement ants have tough skins to help them withstand fierce battles. Photo by Alex Wild
Page 2 and 3: Introduction by Rob Dunn Nearly a d
Page 4 and 5: & Order knows, when you push aside
Page 6 and 7: up what scurried away. Sure enough,
Page 8 and 9: students had found. As James stared
Page 10 and 11: many individuals of Nylanderia flav
Page 12 and 13: A word cloud of ant species collect
Page 14 and 15: Credits About This Interactive Book
Page 16 and 17: 1 Ants What’s the big deal about
Page 18 and 19: and males have wings, those wings s
Page 20 and 21: Shorn larvae fall over like little
Page 22 and 23: While ant nests differ greatly, whe
Page 24 and 25: Meet the Black Carpenter Ant The bl
Page 26 and 27: Movie - Black Carpenter Ants I used
Page 28 and 29: 3 Lasius Ant Lasius Lasius ants are
Page 30 and 31: space. Many more types of engineers
Page 34 and 35: Meet the Pavement Ant Wars happen i
Page 36 and 37: Pavement ants are not native to New
Page 38 and 39: Meet the Odorous House Ant People a
Page 40 and 41: These creatures depend on odorous h
Page 42 and 43: We know they love to nest in mulch.
Page 44 and 45: Meet the Crazy Ant Crazy relatives.
Page 46 and 47: Once they move in, they gobble up a
Page 48 and 49: 7 Winter Ant Prenolepis imparis Win
Page 50 and 51: All that depth serves a purpose. Wh
Page 52 and 53: the pinhole of light shining throug
Page 54 and 55: Meet the Field Ant Formica ants, us
Page 56 and 57: Sometimes their partiality for pudg
Page 58 and 59: School of Ants Map - Field Ant Nort
Page 60 and 61: Meet the Asian Needle Ant The Asian
Page 62 and 63: the area around the sting. For thos
Page 64 and 65: Our forest is a lot like the car fa
Page 66 and 67: Meet the Winnow Ant Aphaenogaster r
Page 68 and 69: Seed planting is a successful busin
Page 70 and 71: Meet the Big Headed Ant The first t
Page 72 and 73: Photo Gallery - Big heads, little h
Page 74 and 75: 12 Little Black Ant Monomorium mini
Page 76 and 77: In our ant stalkings, Will and I qu
Page 78 and 79: 13 Thief Ant Solenopsis molesta Nev
Page 80 and 81: they feel their way to and from foo
Page 82 and 83:
Argentine ants and yellow crazy ant
Page 84 and 85:
Meet the Acrobat Ant One summer, I
Page 86 and 87:
Photo Gallery - Acrobat reproductiv
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15 Honeyrump Ant Brachymyrmex depil
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School of Ants Map - Brachymymex An
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Agricultural and Forest Entomology,
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eetle (Coleoptera : Scarabaeidae) i
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(Hymenoptera : Formicidae) and Lasi
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Milford, E. 1999. Ant communities i
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Nygard, J. P., Sanders, N. J. & Con
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Naturwissenschaften, 98, 651-659. d
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Muscedere, M. L., Traniello, J. F.
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Predation and Parasitism of the Soy
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Menzel, T. O. 2012. Interactions Be
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