Unlike butterflies and dragonflies, ants lag far behind in generating public interest. Part of the
reason is they are not large and colorful, but most are rather small and drab in appearance, and
their presence are not generally welcomed by the homeowner. While state or regional field
guides are available for the more charismatic insects, for most states no comprehensive ant guide
is available, but attitudes are slowly changing as interest in these insects continue to increase
because of their ecological importance.
Several years ago, Timothy Foard initiated a statewide survey with the goal of identifying and
recording all the ant species which occur in Maryland, with the intention of generating a
monograph based on extensive field collection, examination of museum and university
specimens, and published records.
An introduction of ants in general will be presented, followed by a presentation on identifying
the more common ant genera present in Maryland and some of the most common species. If time
permits, the results of the field portion of the survey will be presented and ant assemblages from
several forested sites throughout Maryland.
A native of Savannah, Georgia, Timothy received a Bachelor of Science in Biology from
Armstrong State College (currently the Armstrong Campus of Georgia Southern University) and
worked for the USDA for several years before attending the University of Georgia to receive a
Masters in Entomology. He currently works as a Senior Study Director and Laboratory Manager
at i2L Research USA Inc. in Baltimore, which evaluates new products for the control of insects
and other arthropods of urban and public health importance. Although ants are currently his
main interest, in the past Timothy conducted surveys of other insect and other invertebrate
groups as well.
