Volume 41, Number 1, January 1995:
Collection and Maintenance of Ants
and
Studying Ants: A Beginning
by Mark B. DuBois

Text-only version

ISSUE HOME PAGE

ABOUT THIS ISSUE
- about KSN
- about the author

IN THIS ISSUE
- introduction
- collection
- maintenance, observation ant farm
- maintenance, classroom use
- project observations
- literature cited
- books for children on ants

Studying Ants: A Beginning
by Mark B. DuBois
- males, queens and worker ants
- establishing a colony
- caring for young
- growth of an ant colony
- ant senses
- gardening ants
- harvester ants
- parasitic ants
- acrobat ants
- army ants
- questions, activities and investigations with ants
- further reading

SLIDESHOW
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Collection and Maintenance of Ants to Use for Teaching
by Roger D. Akre, Laurel D. Hansen, and Elizabeth A. Myhre

and

Studying Ants: A Beginning
by Mark B. DuBois

About the Authors

Roger D. Akre, Laurel D. Hansen, and Elizabeth A. Myhre

The late Dr. Robert D. Akre was entomology professor at Washington State University. Dr. Laurel Hansen is at Spokane Fall Community College, 3410 West Fort George Wright Drive, Spokane, WA 99204-5288. Ms. Elizabeth A. Myhre is a research assistant at W.S.U., Pullman, WA 99164-6832.

Mark DuBois

It is difficult to venture outside without encountering ants, especially during the warmer months. Although many people see or step on ants, most do not understand the basic biology of ants - they are just another insect. Actually, scientists do not understand many details in the life of most ant species. We believe there may be nearly 20,000 species of ants, with roughly half of these formally described and named. For a list of ants encountered in and around Kansas, see the April 1994 issue "Checklist of Kansas Ants", Volume 40, No. 2 of the Kansas School Naturalist.