Project:

Ant Biodiversity in Nassau

Students:

Simon Kabacinski, John Cervantes, Trevor Wallace, Domenico Ventura

School:

Chaminade High School, Nassau

Mentors:

Brianna O'Neill

Abstract:

Ants are known for keeping other populations in check, through their wide omnivorous diet of anything readily available to them - including other insects. How does this affect humans, though? Certain ants eat the pesky bed bugs and larvae of mosquitoes, keeping humans in that area safe from their nuisances. However, some ants may eat sugar and reside in houses to do so, contaminating food with feces. Furthermore, many different kinds of spiders, beetles, flies, and caterpillars eat ants on a regular basis. What kind of species of ant they consume is up to their environment. However, not all ants eat the same things, as it too depends on their environment. For example, Carpenter ants eat honeydew and the flesh of other animals, while the fire ants would prefer seeds and sugars in addition to meat and fat. Our goal is to discover the different kinds of species that reside in two different counties on Long Island, what they eat or what eats them, and how this renders the humans living the

Poster:

Team samples: