Insect Ecology @ Au Sable - spring 2025

    Every summer starting around early May it seems that everywhere I look in my backyard a new anthill has popped up. Throughout town and when taking hikes at a local nature preserve it seems that I cannot take a single step without almost stomping on an anthill or running into some kind of bee or wasp. One thing that these common insects have in common is that they are social and live in large colonies together. This social lifestyle, called eusociality, has been remarkably successful with ants making up over 20% of the terrestrial animal biomass. A major question I want to look into is where did this social lifestyle come from?  Eusocial insects are insects that live in a colony that meets four criteria, adult individuals live in groups, cooperative care of juveniles, reproductive division of labor, and overlapping generations. The majority of eusocial insects are in the order Hymenoptera, home to bees, ants, and wasps, with the order Blattodea containing termites whic...

 Imagine if you will, you made the trip to Switzerland (for whatever it may be work, vacation, study abroad, etc.), you have seen the Alps, tried the chocolate, and now you are hungry for a protein-filled meal. On your way back to the hotel, you stop off at a grocery store and see the burger section. You quickly grab some patties labeled as sustainable because you are environmentally conscious, but as you prepare to leave the burger section, you realize these are insect burgers. What do you do? Insects are the largest taxonomic group of any animal in creation, and they provide numerous ecosystem services vital to human and ecosystem flourishing. More recently, insects have been receiving more attention for services that may not be so commonly associated with them. This would be the growing market for insect farming. This type of agribusiness has been technically going on for centuries. The historical practices of apiculture and sericulture are probably some of the most well-kn...