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Zoo InternQuest is a seven-week career exploration program for San Diego County high school juniors and seniors. Students have the unique opportunity to meet professionals working for the San Diego Zoo, Safari Park, and Institute for Conservation Research, learn about their jobs, and then blog about their experience online. Follow their adventures here on the Zoo’s website!
New York City is nicknamed the “city that never sleeps,” but try telling that to Ms. Ester Chang, Senior Animal Keeper in the entomology department of the San Diego Zoo. Ms. Chang cares for and maintains the Zoo’s two very busy colonies of leafcutter ants. The empires these ants build may just steal the title from New York City. This week, Ms. Chang gave our team of interns an inside tour of the Zoo’s Insect House, and a glimpse into the fascinating lives of leaf cutter ants and the other insects residing in her care.
The Zoo is home to two leaf cutter ant populations that live in social groups called colonies. Leaf cutter ants build their colonies underground, creating a vast network of underground tunnels and chambers. Although individual ants all rest at some point, the colony never stops working. The leaf cutter ant is one of the most advanced forms of a truly social insect. Social insects, like honeybees and termites, have only one member of the colony in charge of reproduction. This ant is called the queen ant. Each colony of leaf cutter ants has its own queen, and all of the queen’s workers have specific jobs that keep the colony functioning. The queen ant is sort of like a president or monarch. She keeps everything operating smoothly by releasing pheromones (chemical signals) that keep all the ants on task. However, there are some major differences between a queen ant and the President of the United States. The queen ant doesn’t actually make any decisions. She doesn’t create laws or policies; she doesn’t even feed herself! She is too busy laying eggs, almost 30,000 every day. All of the other ants in the colony feed her, clean her, protect her, and even move her to wherever they want her to go. What happens if a president dies? The vice-president will replace the president, and eventually there will be a new election. Well, what about the Queen of England? Most monarchies are hereditary and when the queen dies, one of her relatives will replace her. But if the queen ant dies, all of the ants will stop working, and the colony will eventually disperse within a year. Some ant species are able to replace their queen, but not leaf cutter ants. Most leaf cutter ant queens live between 15 and 20 years. The queen of the Zoo’s colony is about 8 years old with a long life ahead of her, but just in case something bad happens, the Zoo does have a backup colony. Next time, if you think of the “city that never sleeps,” you might think of the tiny, prosperous, and very alive colony of leaf cutter ants!
Along with the leaf cutter ants, the Zoo’s Insect House is also home to many colorful and exotic species of insects from South America and Asia, including cockroaches. Most people’s reactions to cockroaches are very visceral, screaming, shuddering, the whole package. However, American culture and media have given this insect a bad rap. According to Ms. Chang, the majority of cockroach species are not pests. They actually play a very important role as the garbage men of the forest; recycling waste and dead matter from the forest floor.
In addition to her praiseworthy attempts to clear the cockroach’s name, Ms. Chang had a lot to say about her other insects, both bad and good. She prides herself on her work with the Zoo’s population of dragon headed katydids, which coincidentally also have the worst bite out of all the insects at the Insect House. Ms. Chang, and her team of fellow keepers, devoted a lot of time and research into creating the right breeding conditions for the katydids. They finally discovered that the katydids would lay their eggs between the leafy layers of the banana plant! Besides having a favorite insect, Ms. Chang also has a least favorite insect. The assassin bug, Ms. Chang says, is difficult to work with because not only are they stinky, but they spray venom as well. In order to even work with the assassin bug, she has to gear up in long sleeves, gloves, and goggles. These amazing bugs are just a quick glimpse into the diverse variety of insects at the Zoo, to learn more you’ll have to visit the San Diego Zoo for yourself!
The green, winding trails of leaf cuttings and the individual ants scurrying to and fro without any sense of pattern may seem like one writhing, seething hectic mess to an onlooker, but to Ms. Chang, there is beauty in this chaos. When asked if there was any lesson that she has taken away from the ants, she replied that they have taught her to look at the bigger picture and spend less time worrying about insignificant details. Ms. Chang described that often she sees two ants struggling to carry the same leaf but in opposite directions, and they will sometimes stay like this for hours. But despite the lack of organization or a central mind, Ms. Chang said that the ants are still able to maximize their decision-making and divide labor efficiently and effectively. It seems to me that these tiny bugs have a big message, don’t sweat the small stuff! So come on over to the Insect House at the San Diego Zoo, help these ants spread their message, and take the time to give the cockroach the appreciation it deserves.
Glenna, Real World Team
Week One, Winter Session 2016
New York City is nicknamed the “city that never sleeps,” but try telling that to Ms. Ester Chang, Senior Animal Keeper in the entomology department of the San Diego Zoo. Ms. Chang cares for and maintains the Zoo’s two very busy colonies of leafcutter ants. The empires these ants build may just steal the title from New York City. This week, Ms. Chang gave our team of interns an inside tour of the Zoo’s Insect House, and a glimpse into the fascinating lives of leaf cutter ants and the other insects residing in her care.
The Zoo is home to two leaf cutter ant populations that live in social groups called colonies. Leaf cutter ants build their colonies underground, creating a vast network of underground tunnels and chambers. Although individual ants all rest at some point, the colony never stops working. The leaf cutter ant is one of the most advanced forms of a truly social insect. Social insects, like honeybees and termites, have only one member of the colony in charge of reproduction. This ant is called the queen ant. Each colony of leaf cutter ants has its own queen, and all of the queen’s workers have specific jobs that keep the colony functioning. The queen ant is sort of like a president or monarch. She keeps everything operating smoothly by releasing pheromones (chemical signals) that keep all the ants on task. However, there are some major differences between a queen ant and the President of the United States. The queen ant doesn’t actually make any decisions. She doesn’t create laws or policies; she doesn’t even feed herself! She is too busy laying eggs, almost 30,000 every day. All of the other ants in the colony feed her, clean her, protect her, and even move her to wherever they want her to go. What happens if a president dies? The vice-president will replace the president, and eventually there will be a new election. Well, what about the Queen of England? Most monarchies are hereditary and when the queen dies, one of her relatives will replace her. But if the queen ant dies, all of the ants will stop working, and the colony will eventually disperse within a year. Some ant species are able to replace their queen, but not leaf cutter ants. Most leaf cutter ant queens live between 15 and 20 years. The queen of the Zoo’s colony is about 8 years old with a long life ahead of her, but just in case something bad happens, the Zoo does have a backup colony. Next time, if you think of the “city that never sleeps,” you might think of the tiny, prosperous, and very alive colony of leaf cutter ants!
Along with the leaf cutter ants, the Zoo’s Insect House is also home to many colorful and exotic species of insects from South America and Asia, including cockroaches. Most people’s reactions to cockroaches are very visceral, screaming, shuddering, the whole package. However, American culture and media have given this insect a bad rap. According to Ms. Chang, the majority of cockroach species are not pests. They actually play a very important role as the garbage men of the forest; recycling waste and dead matter from the forest floor.
In addition to her praiseworthy attempts to clear the cockroach’s name, Ms. Chang had a lot to say about her other insects, both bad and good. She prides herself on her work with the Zoo’s population of dragon headed katydids, which coincidentally also have the worst bite out of all the insects at the Insect House. Ms. Chang, and her team of fellow keepers, devoted a lot of time and research into creating the right breeding conditions for the katydids. They finally discovered that the katydids would lay their eggs between the leafy layers of the banana plant! Besides having a favorite insect, Ms. Chang also has a least favorite insect. The assassin bug, Ms. Chang says, is difficult to work with because not only are they stinky, but they spray venom as well. In order to even work with the assassin bug, she has to gear up in long sleeves, gloves, and goggles. These amazing bugs are just a quick glimpse into the diverse variety of insects at the Zoo, to learn more you’ll have to visit the San Diego Zoo for yourself!
The green, winding trails of leaf cuttings and the individual ants scurrying to and fro without any sense of pattern may seem like one writhing, seething hectic mess to an onlooker, but to Ms. Chang, there is beauty in this chaos. When asked if there was any lesson that she has taken away from the ants, she replied that they have taught her to look at the bigger picture and spend less time worrying about insignificant details. Ms. Chang described that often she sees two ants struggling to carry the same leaf but in opposite directions, and they will sometimes stay like this for hours. But despite the lack of organization or a central mind, Ms. Chang said that the ants are still able to maximize their decision-making and divide labor efficiently and effectively. It seems to me that these tiny bugs have a big message, don’t sweat the small stuff! So come on over to the Insect House at the San Diego Zoo, help these ants spread their message, and take the time to give the cockroach the appreciation it deserves.
Glenna, Real World Team
Week One, Winter Session 2016
