Northern CA PPSR Projects 1

Bay Area Ant Survey

• Organization Name

  Naturalist Center - California Academy of Sciences
• Project Website

  http://www.calacademy.org/citizen-science-0
• Organization Website

  http://www.calacademy.org/science/naturalist_center/
• Partners

  N / A
• Contact Name

  N / A
• Contact Email

  naturalist@calacademy.org.
• Contact Phone

  (415)379-5494
• Other Contact Information

  Bay Area Ant Survey
  Naturalist Center
  California Academy of Sciences
  55 Music Concourse Dr
  San Francisco, CA, 94118

• Project Purpose (taken from project materials)

  Obtain baseline data for ants living in local counties.
  Goals include:

  • Documenting the ant diversity of the Bay Area
  • Mapping the spread of invasive ants, including the problematic Argentine ant
  • Creating a permanent collection of ant species for scientific research and teaching
  • Allowing the community to experience scientific discovery firsthand
• Participant Activities

  1. Pick up a free collecting kit from the Naturalist Center inside the California Academy of Sciences. You can also download spare data sheets.

  2. Look for ants anywhere you can think of – in your backyard, on a hiking trail, in your school yard. Sunny days work best.

  3. If you can’t find any ants, try setting out bait. Ants love honey, tuna, or cookies (try Pecan Sandies!). Check back in an hour or so.

  4. Collect ants gently, perhaps using a leaf. Try to get at least 5 ants from a single collection site into the vial of ethanol. This liquid preserves the bodies.

  5. Fill out a data sheet for each unique collection site. Be accurate and thorough, as this data will be used for scientific research. You can attach a map of your survey site if you’d like.

  6. Drop off your data sheet and ant-filled vial at the Naturalist Center, or go ahead and mail these items using a padded envelope to: ATTN: Bay Area Ant Survey, Naturalist Center, California Academy of Sciences,55 Music Concourse Dr,San Francisco, CA, 94118

• Data Entry

  • Collection Kits
  • Data Sheets
• Other Participant Activities

  Participation in other Citizen Science project, visits and educational workshops with the organization.

• System Studied

  • Invertebrates
• Geographic Scope

  Regional
• Region

  Northern California
• Location

  Bay Area backyards, hiking trails, school yards - anywhere you can think of
• Location - Map

  Naturalist Center California Academy of Sciences 55 Music Concourse Dr San Francisco, CA, 94118
• Time Commitment

  • Other (see Other Information below)
• Volunteer Qualifications

  N / A
• Volunteer Training

  None required, but fact sheets and other materials are available through the website for volunteers to learn about ants.

• Cost to Participant

  N / A
• How will the findings be used?

  Each month, Bay Area Ant Survey identifies, databases, and provides housing for the new ant specimens. They then upload the data to AntWeb for public viewing.

• Other Information

  N / A
• Photo

  
• last update:

  N / A