Hello fellow readers, I have just completed my second week in my research in ant behavior. This week was a bit slower than my first week, and it was quite a bit repetitive. This week consisted mainly of many Nest Preference tests and a Pathfinder Assay a day (nifty little rhyme). But there was some new territory that I explored. Our collaborators at NJIT approved our test video for the Pathfinding program, so over the course of the week, I filmed the movement of various pathfinders and non pathfinders. We have yet to observe the videos and see if there are any trends.
I also helped one of my coworkers with a project of his. His project is to determine if there is a relationship between caste ratio and colony size in Pharoah's Ant, while also looking at what determines if a female ant becomes a queen or a worker. Along with an ambitious project like this comes a HUGE amount of new colonies. two-hundred new colonies were required for this experiment, and everyone in the lab helped him prep the colonies: then we helped him remove pupae from each colony.
Removing pupae from a colony is a tedious process which can test the patience of anyone. The number of pupae in a colony range from 400-1200, and this is done by using a small paintbrush to remove them one by one. I fortunately only had to remove pupae from one colony, which only had 400 in it. Then, I was given the responsibility to weigh the first twenty pupae from each colony. Although it was a great experience, I can be glad to say my job helping my co-worker with his project is complete.
Until next week,
Colby Saxton
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