Pests

The inaugural Aotea Ecology Festival was a success in bringing together locals passionate about ecology, with support from the Aotea / Great Barrier Local Board. Annual funding from the board of $30,000 for the Aotea Ecology Vision Facilitator role contributed to delivery of a well-executed festival. It was the first year of this festival, having replaced the annual Pestival event to include the wide range of ecological work going on that isn’t pest related. “The local board is proud to support an opportunity for all our hard-working environmental groups to get together and share their amazing mahi with their community. It was an aspiring event to say the least,” says local board chair, Izzy Fordham. The event involved stalls and displays from the island’s environmental groups, schools, and government agencies, as well as presentations from guest speakers. “Our aim for Ecology Festival 2023 was to create an inclusive and po...

King Solomon may have gained some of his famed wisdom from an unlikely source – ants. According to a Jewish legend, Solomon conversed with a clever ant queen that confronted his pride, making quite an impression on the Israelite king. In the biblical book of Proverbs (6:6-8), Solomon shares this advice with his son: “Look to the ant, thou sluggard, consider her ways and be wise. Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.” While I can’t claim any familial connection to King Solomon, despite sharing his name, I’ve long admired the wisdom of ants and have spent over 20 years studying their ecology, evolution and behaviors. While the notion that ants may offer lessons for humans has certainly been around for a while, there may be new wisdom to gain from what scientists have learned about their biology. Ants have evolved highly complex social organizations...