On Friday, January 18th, over 255 students from High Tech High Schools participated in an extensive ant survey at Cabrillo National Monument as part of our collaborative project called “The San Diego Urban Ant Project.” Our schools helped ant scientists and researchers at UCSD;s Holway Lab, to collect data on the invasive Argentine Ant. Our students and parent chaperones did an amazing job, with each class observing and reporting on 5 sites, for a combined total of 60 survey sites. We found a total of 8 different species of ants! These include the invasive Argentine Ant (confirmed at 12 sites,) and several native ants including the “Winter Ant,” the “Thief Ant,” the “Acrobat Ant,” the “Fire Ant,” and amale “Little Black Ant.” Two additional species were found including Pseudomyrmex and Pheidole hyatti. This important citizen science work will help map the presence and absence of the invasive Argentine Ant in our community.
On April 13, 2018, five High Tech High school participated in ant survey's around Cabrillo, with a total of 277 students. the San Diego Urban Ant Project added an additional 50 sites to the original 60 sites for a grand total of 110 sites surveyed. We found six ant species, with three of them new to the project. Below is data on ants collected in April.