The new gallery explores these superorganisms’ intersecting history, biology, and behavior
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., March 15, 2024— Arthropods: Creatures That Rule is a popular gallery in the Harvard Museum of Natural History that draws on Harvard research to explore arthropods’ extraordinary evolutionary success. It features a wide array of preserved creatures and live specimens. Ants and Termites: Nature’s Super Organisms, opening March 16th, is a brand-new addition to the gallery.
Ants and termites are nature’s power players. These extremely social superorganisms inhabit every continent, save Antarctica, and live in complex societies. Members of each colony work together as one unified force to survive and reproduce.
The new mini exhibit incorporates fascinating and leading research from Harvard scientists: Dr. Andrew B. Davies, PhD, Assistant Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard, Waring Trible, Principal Investigator, Trible Lab, John Harvard Distinguished Science Fellow, and James Traniello, Research Associate, Harvard, and Professor of Biology, Boston University, and contributions from Professor Naomi Pierce, Museum of Comparative Zoology curator.
Professor Traniello says, “Ants and termites are social titans among insects. They are extraordinarily important ecologically, provide important models to understand evolutionary processes, and are deeply embedded in human culture. This exhibit will for the first time make their fascinating biology available to all.”
Termites are tens of millions of years older than ants and are cousins to cockroaches. Ants appeared 50 million years later, during the Cretaceous period, evolving from predatory wasps. During the time ants and termites have shared the Earth, their evolution converged in many ways. For instance, both species communicate using chemicals called pheromones, which are critical to social organization and influence how their brains develop. Although ants and termites have much in common, ants are the primary predators of termites. Termites eat plant matter and dead wood, to the chagrin of homeowners everywhere, but they are also important in nutrient recycling.
In the gallery space, visitors can see a 3D termite nest cross-section view and preserved specimens of various ant species, such as turtle ants, leafcutter ants, and honeypot ants. The late Edward O. Wilson, Professor Emeritus in Entomology in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard, is widely recognized as the world authority on ants. A realistic model of a honeypot ant sculpture was given to Wilson by former students, and can be seen hanging in the gallery space. Visitors can also learn fun facts such as how long termite kings and queens can live and how many ant species and the total number of ants there are on Earth. Spoiler: these figures are much higher than you’d think!
Waring Trible on the new exhibit: “Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology hosts one of the most extensive and historically significant scientific collections of ants in the world. This exciting new exhibit will finally provide the public a glimpse into this cherished resource and the discoveries Harvard scientists have made with it.”
Ants and termites are master architects and live in resource-efficient nests with ventilation and stable temperature and humidity. These structures are so “intelligently” constructed that they inspire the design of future eco-friendly and energy-efficient buildings, as well as cooperative robot systems. They are even the basis of human mythology and art. As “ecosystem engineers,” termites alter water and nutrient availability and biodiversity and have great ecological significance.
Dr. Andrew B. Davies, PhD: “Termites and ants are fundamentally important to ecosystem functioning, with massive benefits to human wellbeing. They improve soil health, distribute nutrients, seeds, and moisture, and promote plant growth. However, these benefits are often overlooked by people, with both termites and ants often considered only as pests, rather than allies, by many. My hope is that this new exhibit will serve to better inform the public on the wonders and benefits of these essential insect groups.”
Visitors can also weave their way through the gallery to discover Orb-Weavers: Masters of the Spider World, an exhibit examining the evolution of the orb web, and The Rockefeller Beetles, a small exhibit featuring hundreds of jewel-like beetle specimens collected by David Rockefeller.
For more information on visiting the museums and upcoming events, including the new ArtsThursdays series, HMSC membership, and enews sign-up, please visit hmsc.harvard.edu.
About the Harvard Museums of Science & Culture
The HMSC mission is to foster curiosity and a spirit of discovery in visitors of all ages by enhancing public understanding of and appreciation for the natural world, science, and human cultures. HMSC works in concert with Harvard faculty, museum curators, students, and members of the extended Harvard community to provide interdisciplinary exhibitions, events and lectures, and educational programs for students, teachers, and the public. HMSC draws primarily upon the extensive collections of the member museums and the research of their faculty and curators.
History
The Harvard Museums of Science & Culture (HMSC) partnership was established on July 1, 2012, by former Edgerley Family Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Michael D. Smith, to develop a strong, coordinated public face for the six research museums that are within the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard:
See hours and admission rates on each of the HMSC museum websites:
- Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments
- Harvard Museum of Natural History
- Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East
- Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology
Bethany Carland-Adams
Public Relations Specialist
Harvard Museums of Science & Culture
617-959-3481
bcarlandadams@hmsc.harvard.edu