MyrmeCarnival

Ants are common insects, but they have some unique capabilities. "MyrmeCarnival" is an outreach program that aims to communicate the unique capabilities of ants using notes, photographs and interactive sessions. The program serves as a platform to resonate the marvels and wonders achieved by the tiny soldiers of the animal kingdom. It also helps us to learn their importance in the food chain and the various roles they play which help maintain the ecosystem. The program has been designed to enrich the participants by focusing on introduction of various ant genus/species with high quality extended focus montage images and field photos accompanied by talks and discussions.

This program is organized by the Insect Biosystematics and Conservation Lab, ATREE in collaboration with Travancore Nature History Society (TNHS), Kerala as part of ATREE’s (Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment) Silver Jubilee celebrations supported by the Department of Biotechnology, India.

Come witness and revel in the diverse world of ants starting December 6th, stay Tuned!

Ant-Facts

• Ants are as old as dinosaurs! Ants have been on Earth when dinosaurs were moving close to extinction.
• Ants are one of the strongest creatures in the world. They can carry loads several times their body weight. The weight an ant can carry is species specific.
• The most painful insect sting comes from – The BULLET ANT (Paraponera clavata) of Central and South American rainforests (Dr Justin Schmidt’s (Arizona, USA) Sting Pain Index). The Satere-Mawe tribe of the Amazon rainforest force their boys to insert their hands into a special glove filled with bullet ants for ten minutes as part of their ritual. It is repeated until the boys are capable of enduring the sting and stay without shedding a tear. This will take nearly 20 attempts!
  Watch the National Geographic documentary here https://youtu.be/ZGIZ-zUvotM.
• The world’s most venomous ant – the Maricopa harvester ant Pogonomyrmex maricopa Wheeler, 1914 can be found in the United States and Mexico.
• Ants are a delicacy! In India weaver ants are widely used as food. Both adults and eggs of weaver ants are used as a local medicine to cure health issues such as cold, cough and malaria.
• Ants are known to heal wounds. That’s right! Ants have been used for healing wounds since  the 13th century and this practice originated in China. Even in some parts of the Western Ghats the local groups still use ants to aid in wound healing.
• Ants learnt farming before humans! Ants were farming fungus millions of years before humans discovered agriculture. The South American ant group switched from a hunter lifestyle to farming of fungi 55 to 60 million years ago, shortly after the extinction of dinosaurs.
• The underground nest of ants is known to aerate the soil especially in dry areas where it also helps cycle the organic matter.
• Ever thought about petting ants? Certain species of Camponotus, Monomorium, Pachycondyla, Tetraponera, Pheidole are reared at homes as a hobby by providing required habitat in a manmade setup.
• Ever seen ants parading in and out of the restrooms and lavatories? Well, they aren’t here to take a recess break from their everlasting trail. Camponotus compressus (Common Godzilla Ant) is popularly known to feed on urea and hence pay visits in toilets.
• Do ants sleep? Yes. Ants take short power naps at staggered times –few ants stay awake while others take power naps. The average worker ant takes 250 naps/day, one nap lasts just over a minute.