- I keep ants because I am fascinated by their complex and intricate societies, which vary greatly from species to species. I especially enjoy learning about what makes ant colonies function by peering within them and deconstructing the way different members of the colony play important roles the same way a technician might take apart an engine and put it back together again to better understand how it works. I love learning new things about the world around me through experimentation and trouble-shooting.
- In the past, I was quite into other fields of biology such as herpetology, botany, marine biology and even paleontology and used to have collections of exotic reptiles and amphibians, other invertebrates and used to help care for my father's fish tanks (I also have several crates of fossils and gemstones from when I used to collect fossils and various crystal formations.). I also enjoy nature photography, hiking, drawing, raising insects and other small organisms, microscopy, reading classic scifi books and playing chess in my spare times (I also used to lay magic the gathering). It might also be important to not that I have studied a wide variety of other social insects in my spare time, such as poliste wasps and subterranean termites. I have raised colonies of termites in the past and for a short while, took up a profession as a beekeeper.
- I will be starting my first year of college shortly and plan to obtain my masters (or possibly my PHD if I apply myself) and a degree in biology. I would probably specialize in sociology, wildlife conservation, entomology and evolutionary biology. I have actually been working on a research paper for the last 6 months which I hope to publish around the end of this year. Currently, It lacks a working title, but it is currently known as "A Biological Synthesis of Monomorium Emarginatum". I have 25 pages written so far.
- I am 18 currently.
- I am the only "Ant keeper" in my family. The response to my rather unusual hobby is quite mixed across my family. Most of my family is rather supportive and my mother has even taken a bit of interest in my work (Which says a lot, because she once had a fear of ants growing up as a kid. She now has a newfound respect for them.). A portion of my family prefers the "live and let live" approach where they couldn't care less either way. My uncle, however once kept a large collection of reptiles, amphibians and macro invertebrates, which served as a major inspiration for me at the time. When I was younger, my mother introduced me to insects and fostered an appreciation for nature (Likened to how she felt as a child) to this very day. It still has the same power it had all those years ago to humble me, fill me into a sense of awe and wonder and shake me to my very core. I am beyond grateful that she set me down this path.
I hope this has helped you 
