Wild Life / Insectpedia

warm regards, x ants

Hi, friends — this time of year we realize we are here by the grace of ants. The big carpenter ants are everywhere, coming in open windows, finding crumbs. They are such large well-articulated creatures that I often think it would be possible to have a full conversation with them. Perfectly black, they look a bit like shadow puppets under your feet (sometimes on your feet).

I’m coming out of a dark week of family Covid (it stinks, get those boosters if you can) and finally went outside to do my “gardening,” which mainly involved moving old leaf litter and medium-sized rocks from one place to another. Under everything I touched I found a hoard of small ants (pavement ants, I think) scurrying to rescue their babies. They work so hard and so fast, carrying their little bundles to new hiding places. They leave no little-body behind. It’s mid-May and all the insects are out in a hurry, squeezing their full lives into the warmth.

I’m still catching up, so for now I want to recommend this lovely interview with naturalist and author Eric Eaton about how to love bugs (at least the vast majority of them). I illustrated his new book Insectpedia and learned the lesson by observing the tiny wings and perfect superpowers of so many insects. Here are a few pages and drawings, below. The book is available from Princeton University Press. Thanks for reading, and I’ll be back again soon with tales/tails of raccoons. — Amy Jean

*an elaiosome is a little nutrient packet attached to a seed that attracts ants and helps the seed disperse. I drew a very similar picture for Florapedia, thinking about it from the plant’s side of things.

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Wild Life / this newsletter is a place to learn about the life around us, one determined ant at a time. Thanks for reading and sharing with friends and family. I’ll be back again soon with a full newsletter. Consider this one a postcard, with love from the ants.