SSC Specialist Group provides first online database on all
11,000 ant species 08 March 2002 | News story Gland,
Switzerland, 08.03.02. IUCN-The World Conservation Union. Ants
are one of the most ecologically important groups of animals,
and are also considered one of the worst invasive species. They
can turn more soil than earthworms, are the main herbivores in
tropical South America, and make up to one third of the animal
biomass in a rainforest. Yet social insects (ants, bees, wasps,
and termites), are not included in mainstream conservation
efforts and most of the information that could be used to
conserve or manage them is not catalogued or easily available.
The IUCN/SSC Social Insects Specialist Group (SISG) is part of a
global collaboration that is working to solve this problem by
creating Antbase.org, the first online database providing
Internet access to knowledgeof all ant species (approximately
11,000) as well as images, full text publications, distribution
data, and a bibliography. "Antbase.org is