Andrew Robertson

How often do you run into your school's mascot? This southern #yellowjacket #wasp queen was buzzing around my backyard yesterday, probably looking for a place to overwinter. Hope I don't meet her daughters in the spring

A biologist crouches next to a 40-liter pot of boiling water in the middle of a sandy pine forest. The water will be used to eliminate invasive fire ants.

I made a video for @galacticpolymath.com describing #MySciJourney in the world of #ants as part of their science communication challenge. Give it a quick look and remember to leave a like! #scicomm #outreach
www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXyp...

It's all about perspective. The lines on the wings of this #fly don't look like much to me, but it managed to scare off this invasive needle #ant by mimicking a spider with quick sidestep movements. At least, that's how it looked, from my perspective

Throwback to when I met my first trapjaw #ant (Odontomachus brunneus) in South Alabama. She gave me a little kiss, but it would be weeks later until I got my first sting. Ponerine venom feels really different from myrmecine, don't you think?

Ah! I forgot to tag @insectessociaux.bsky.social !

Insect architects: How termites, ants, and bees build without blueprints by Paige Caine Paige Caine is a PhD student in Dr. Michael Goodisman’s lab at Georgia Tech. She study fire ants and yellowjackets wasps. In this blog, she explains how social insects, such as…

Want to learn about social #insect nests? Can't (or don't want to) read our giant review? Lead author Paige Caine wrote a blog post for #InsectesSociaux summing up the broad strokes of our synthesis and conclusions looking at #termite #wasp #bee and #ant nests!
insectessociaux.com/2025/09/27/i...

Architecture of the insect society: comparative analysis of collective construction and social function of nests - Insectes Sociaux Many social insects construct nests, which are fundamentally important to the success and survival of the colony. We review recent work on understanding the construction and function of social insect ...

Sooo excited to share that our social #insect nest review is finally out! There is so much ground to cover between #termites #wasps #bees and #ants. I was thrilled to help out with this effort (and provide some cool photos!). Enjoy!
link.springer.com/article/10.1...

One mother for two species via obligate cross-species cloning in ants - Nature In a case of obligate cross-species cloning, female ants of Messor ibericus need to clone males of Messor structor to obtain sperm for producing the worker caste, resulting in males from the same moth...

#Ants are totally wild!! From obligately chimeric males to hybridogenesis and now "xenoparity" they really have just about every mode of reproduction I can think of. And probably a few that I can't!

Link to this fascinating new article:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Assassin #bugs look so metal 🤘

This nice fella was on my front door. Thanks for the free pest control!

Trachymyrmex fungus garden ant

I'm planning to post more cool #ant pictures from my short time in #Colombia but I can't resist sharing this spiny #Trachymyrmex in the meantime. What big eyes she has! 👀

If I have my timelines correct, Ed had moved on to Harvard by this point. Walter Tschinkel writes on the fire ant wars quite well in his 2006 book The Fire Ants, one of my all-time favorites.

What is common knowledge in your field, but shocks outsiders?

The US waged three wars against fire ants early in their arrival to the US nearly 100 years ago (through my hometown!). They dropped a variety of poisons with actual bombers across the southeast that likely hurt native animals more.

It's national #Pollinator week in the US! Here are a couple photos of native #bees, a paper #wasp, and the best #mosquito I've ever met! Where would we be without them 💚

@sarahmackattack.bsky.social is it wrong if I call squid ink teuth paste?

A trip to California absolutely means trying my hand at #ant #macrophotography

Finally, we have males. These look more similar to wasps than ants, and bear small wing spots on the outer margins, near the abdomen

This is all in service to the family. She has a mother and plenty of sisters and juveniles to feed. The queens are almost indistinguishable, bearing wing scars on the larger thorax and an abdomen ready for oviposition. Can you spot her?

Without hope, this worker #termite fights back against it's predator, biting her leg. Ultimately, the needle ant beats the crap out of it. Literally.

I had a photoshoot with the #NeedleAnts today, #brachyponera chinensis. I couldn't decide what to post, so here's a thread, starting with predation on a favorite meal here in Atlanta, a #Reticulitermes worker

A new neighbor moved in this spring. Polistes exclamans is so vibrant

Walking the tightrope is a bit less impressive when you have 6 legs tipped with claws and gripping pads. But hey, you're in the show!

#solenopsis #ants #fireants

Any camponotus alates or is it still too early?

Meeting up at the (sugar) watering hole

Getting some more practice with my #macro lens and some #solenopsis invicta fire #ants . You can tell not only the variation in size, but also age! The smaller, pale ants below (called callows) will turn darker as they age.

Oh wait, I think it's #Formica pallidefulva. Either way, I'm happy to see her

Got a simple clip on #macro lens for my phone, and I think it's working alright. A #camponotus worker #ant with pretty well developed ocelli sat still just long enough for a half decent photo

Can't we all just get along? Apparently not. These #fireant workers from the same nest apparently had a score to settle. They disengaged eventually, but sometimes it feels like we're living in an #ant hill

Wasp perched on a creekside rock cairn

I'm holding a crawfish while leading a class in stream sampling

Pheidole obscurithorax "big-headed" ants. Major and minor workers forage on the ground

Happy #DarwinDay! Today, we celebrate biology, diversity, and the environment. I'm always so excited to learn more about the world we share with such amazing creatures.

Don't be afraid to flip over rocks or ask questions, you might just learn something by accident!🐜

(PDF) An adhesive drone trap to study the flight altitude preferences of winged ants PDF | On Jan 11, 2025, Daniele Giannetti and others published An adhesive drone trap to study the flight altitude preferences of winged ants | Find, read and cite all the research you need on Research...

What a cool study! A great idea to use #drones to capture reproductive #ants during nuptial flights. Maybe if I can attach my bug net to my drone, then I can catch some live queens for colony founding or even fill in data on ant #phenology
Link to study:
www.researchgate.net/publication/...

So far my only paper, so I guess it's my "best known" 😅
Florida Harvester #Ants ( #Pogonomyrmex badius) vary their insect foraging across the year, but they always like seeds. Also, #Solenopsis invicta fire ants are mean but not deadly for FHAs. Message me if you want to learn more!

male ants: welcome brother!