“When they find out that I study ants, they ask:“ How can I get them out of the apartment? ””: an interview with myrmecologist Pavel Lisitsyn

Pavel Lisitsyn works as a myrmecologist - he studies ants. He complains that his profession is considered boring and uninteresting. But during the interview, Lifehacker became convinced that this was not the case. We learned from Pavel how useful his activities are for the environment, what danger expeditions pose to zoologists, and how love for animals coexists with “killing for the sake of science.” And also - they wanted to buy an ant farm.

Who are biologists, zoologists, myrmecologists

- What do zoologists, botanists, mycologists do (and how do they differ)? Can they all be called biologists?

“There is an insane variety of disciplines that make up biology. The first or second courses are the same for all students. And then there is specialization. There are various departments: botany, zoology, physiology, biophysics, neurodynamics. In senior years, the student chooses one of them, based on personal preferences and interests.

Whatever direction the student chooses, at the end of the bachelor's degree, he will in any case be given a diploma, where it will be written: “Biologist». And in brackets it is indicated which department he graduated from. Here I have, for example, "Biologist (zoologist)". At the same time, I am a zoologist who studies ants - that is, myrmecologist (from the Greek "myrmes" - "ant").

So. Mycology, botany, zoology are small "disciplines" within biology that are dedicated to the three kingdoms: fungi, plants and animals, respectively. Scientists involved in them usually work in natural conditions, in nature. Although there are also laboratory biologists among them - for example, they study the same ants without leaving the office. But all these specialists are first and foremost scientists. They set scientific goals for themselves, research their topic, and publish.

Their work depends on the field seasons. During them, scientists travel to the station - observe, collect, measure - in general, conduct research in nature. And then for the rest of the time they process this material and write articles and participate in conferences based on it.

For each scientist, the time of the field season varies - it depends on the object of study. Since I work with ants, my field season is September. And there are those who study cuckoos - they leave on nature in April-May. At this time, the birds are just active reproduction.

- And how exactly is the study of ants? A zoologist sits over an anthill with a magnifying glass - like in a Soviet children's picture?

- Entomologists have a rather cruel way of determining the type of insect: first kill it, and then examine it under a microscope.

Ant species are quite weakly distinguished visually. For example, some are only distinguished by the pubescence of the hairs on the back of the head.

I deal with the ants that participate in humificationDeadwood humification is a process in which fallen trees are converted into humic substances and become part of the soil. - This is a long process in which fungi, bacteria, and many arthropods are involved. And I'm interested in the role of ants.

Therefore, my field work looks like this: I find a fallen tree, using a special method, I determine the stage of its decomposition and collect ants with tweezers or an exhauster - by the way, because of it police officers they stop me on the subway all the time. (Laughs) And then I put the insects in alcohol test tubes. I mount valuable copies on a pin and study them under a microscope.

For humanitarian reasons, I collect 30-50 ants - this is the statistical minimum necessary for the emergence of scientific conclusions. This is such a brutal way to study insects. But this is a sacrifice in the name of science.

— And how is the behavioral aspect studied?

— My first scientific work during my undergraduate studies was related to the behavioral characteristics of carpenter ants of the genus Camponotus. There are four species of them in the Nizhny Novgorod region. I watched them, studied daily activity.

Every hour he approached the anthill and wrote down how many individuals entered and exited. And then he checked whether anything would change in artificial conditions. This was necessary in order to find out whether such activity was programmed genetically Or it depends on the environment.

The artificial conditions were a formicarium (ant farm) - a plaster house with a tube connected by the so-called arena, an imitation of the street. I marked the ants with a special varnish, creating a unique pattern for each. And then I watched their activity using different lights.

By the way, this is an example of zoological work that does not require expeditions. In general, a huge part of it is a museum. A large number of samples are stored there. And the exposition material at the exhibitions is only a small part of the fund of scientific collections.

In some museums, ants have been lying around since the 17th century, waiting for their explorer. It happens that before the samples collected several hundred years ago, scientists reach only now.

Therefore, you can not even go out into nature. It is enough to work with the material collected by zoologists past eras. And maybe even discover a new species!

But you go to nature. Why? Are you tired of expeditions?

— For me, expeditions are not only scientific work, but also a hobby. Spending time in nature is my favorite time. Every weekend I go to the forest, and when I write my thesis, I go on a two- or three-week camping trip. I can't sit at home. About 100 days a year I am in nature, there is no other way.

In addition, I also taking pictures what surrounds me, and then I share it on social networks.

— Where are you going? Which expedition do you remember the most?

- My work mainly takes place in the north of the Nizhny Novgorod region. It's pretty hard out there, of course. Wild places, bears and all that. We have to sit in the forest for a couple of weeks without communication.

The expedition across Dagestan made a great impression. This is the southernmost part of Russia, where a huge number of animals and plants. And there are also many endemics - species that live only in a certain area.

At the same time, the nature of Dagestan has not been sufficiently studied. Therefore, we traveled and collected everything we saw with burning eyes. The expedition was aimed at finding new species of ants and burrowing wasps.

There are headlines in the news: “Scientists have discovered a new species of beetle!” But in fact, such a discovery is not uncommon.

Indeed, at the moment in the kingdom "AnimalsAbout 1.5 million species have been described, of which about 900,000 are insects. At the same time, the estimated number of species is about 8 million. Many we just don't know.

— And what about modern technologies — do they help you somehow in your work?

- Yes. A simple example: earlier researchers made drawings of collected species, but the error of this method is large, because you can miss a lot. So now we are photographing them.

Another example is a security camera. My colleagues worked in the Kazakh reserve. They set up a camera trap to study birds. A month and a half later, when they looked at the footage, they found out that they managed to capture rare Red Book species. And even to find a caracal - it was not known before that steppe lynxes reach those places!

About what ants are and why to study them

Why ants in particular?

- Ants are awesome! When I chose the topic of scientific work, I talked a lot with potential scientific instructors. One of them gave me books about ants - first one, then the second. I read it and I liked it!

Ants are a very large group in every sense. Firstly, there are many types of them - more than 14,000. Secondly, they are almost everywhere. In the warm season, it is difficult to find a place where there would not be a single ant within a radius of 5 m. They play a huge role in the biosphere.

Thirdly, they are interesting for their sociality: they have complex hierarchical relationships among themselves and a complex system of interaction with other anthills. In general, discoveries are still to be made and made.

What discoveries have you made so far?

— My main work — my Ph.D. thesis — has not been written yet. But I have several separate articles about interesting finds.

For example, here in the Nizhny Novgorod region, I came across Tetramorium armatum. The standard ant family has a female that lays eggs, soldiers that guard the colony, and workers that take care of the rest of the colony. And in Tetramorium armatum - a parasitic species - the latter are completely absent.

Therefore, in order to survive, they crawl into an anthill of a different species, deceive its inhabitants with pheromones that mask the smell of strangers, and rub themselves into trust. As a result, the owners feed them, care for them, and hatch their larvae.

This species was originally found in the southern regions. Therefore, it was unexpected to find it in the Nizhny Novgorod region, a couple of thousand kilometers from its habitat.

I cannot yet boast of more serious work - science begins in graduate school. Undergraduate and graduate programs only teach be a scientist.

- Wow! And what other unusual types of ants are there?

- Polyergus rufescens - slave ants. Of all the castes, they only had soldiers left. Their jaws are sickle-shaped, like two spikes. Such a structure is suitable only for killing.

They cannot do anything else with them: neither build nests nor feed each other. Therefore, they periodically raid another species of ants - Formica fusca.

It is an amazing sight: thousands of slave ants purposefully crawl in one direction. They penetrate the anthill of Formica fusca, throwing out everyone who comes across the way. They steal the pupae from which the offspring should hatch, drag them to themselves.

Formica fusca pupae subsequently become slaves to Polyergus rufescens. They build nests, feed the soldiers and take care of the queen. They even smell like Polyergus rufescens. After all, when ants are born, they take on the smell of the place in which they appeared. When slaves die, their masters make another raid.

- You describe everything very enthusiastically! But you've probably had to face the question of why study ants at all. How do you usually answer?

- Yes! This type of activity seems to people frivolous. This problem of any fundamental Sciences. The value of applied disciplines and their practical purpose are obvious to anyone.

But it is important to understand that all applied science is based on knowledge given by fundamental science. Without her, we wouldn't be able to do anything.

Basic science is a brick. I study animals, which means I create bricks. Specialists in other fields build houses, sheds, warehouses from them - treat pets, contribute to the reproduction of livestock. And it happens that I do not create bricks, but invent some new material - I find animals that can greatly affect people's lives.

To understand how to interact with nature, you need to know it in person. Everyone, absolutely every species has its own role. So, we will not be able to grow a forest if we do not understand how it works, from what insects the trees die and with what fungi they live in symbiosis. Without the work of zoologists and botanists, this knowledge would not have been possible to obtain.

Speaking of my topic, ants play a very important role in any system and affect almost everything in this world in one way or another.

Usually, when people find out that I study ants, they ask: “How do I bring them out from the apartment? And the practical actions that can be taken to destroy them are the result of the work of zoologists.

But the most obvious example is the achievement of the Soviet myrmecological school. When ants of the genus Formica (red forest) were very actively used in pest control. You all have probably seen them: they are painted brown, build large anthills (sometimes up to 2 m high) and feed on other insects.

In the USSR, there was a program to resettle these ants in the centers of pests - for example, caterpillars that devour trees. Once relocated, the Formica quickly destroyed them, thereby maintaining the health of the forest.

Ants in general could be very useful. Many of them, for example, have special glands that secrete antiseptic and antibacterial substances. For them, this is a necessity: they live in a terrible world where everyone wants to kill them. Especially mushrooms! There are a huge number of species whose spores, getting into an insect, germinate and develop in it, killing their carrier.

Perhaps, the poisons of some ants or the antiseptic and antibacterial substances secreted by them are already being used by someone.

“By the way, when you talked about the formicarium, I remembered that my sister also had an ant farm. Do you think ants are good pets for a child? Better or worse than dogs?

It's hard to say if it's better or worse. They are very different beings. But I am sure that an ant farm would be very interesting for a child. Especially if we are talking about easy-to-keep types of insects: messors, reapers, lazius.

Caring for them develops many skills and broadens one's outlook. Watching ants, the child begins to treat animals more responsibly. He understands that every little insect It is a separate life, a separate person.

Most likely, going out into the street, such a child will not set fire to the anthill or once again step on the worm.

After all, using the example of his own pets, he sees: in order for an ant to have at least 10 ants, you need to put a lot of effort and attention.

In addition, the owner of the farm forms a lot of household skills: to make a formicarium yourself, you need to learn how to drill, pour plaster, sculpt. Thanks to this, the child develops fine motor skills and trains accuracy.

About how zoologists admire nature and help the ecology

- You have a photo with “zoological pickles”, as well as a video where you mount a butterfly. How does this fit in with your love for animals?

— I love animals very much and cannot imagine myself without interacting with them. But, unfortunately, without this in any way. When I worked as a laboratory assistant at the department, my duties included the preparation and organization of laboratory for students, including the killing of animals.

I had to euthanize frogs with chloroform. Either - it sounds scary, but in fact this method is more humane - to break their backs with a special needle.

Death is natural process. To feed the same frog, you need to donate a mouse. But if it is possible to avoid unnecessary sacrifices, I do everything possible - for example, I just take a picture of an ant, and do not take it with me.

— And what do zoologists do for ecology?

— It is interesting to observe how the meaning of the word “ecology” changes. In today's world, this query searches the Internet for pictures of radioactive waste containers. In general, initially “ecology” appeared as a result of admiration for nature.

Ernst Haeckel, the originator of the term, once observed foraminifera, unicellular testate amoeba, in marine plankton. He was amazed at how varied and beautiful they were. And then I thought about how they interact with each other, and began to study it.

That's why ecology is the science of the interaction of animate and inanimate nature, the functioning of biological systems, communities. And in this sense, all zoologists, botanists, mycologists are also ecologists.

We explore the components of individual communities and how they interact. It is possible to establish the importance of a particular species only by studying it, by learning what role it plays in the biosystem.

Thanks to the efforts of zoologists, we know which species need to be protected, which ones do not, and which ones need to be artificially propagated. Specialists compile lists, which are then formed into the Red Books.

The product of zoologists is the Red Book.

At the same time, a rare species listed in it is not always under the threat of extinction. There is, for example, the common viper - Vipera berus. In Nizhny Novgorod, this is one of the most common snake. But it is still in the Red Book.

After all, you cannot explain to a simple mushroom picker that the viper is the most important component of the ecosystem. The first reaction of people when they see a snake (also poisonous) is to kill it. And you don't have to do that. Therefore, if it had not been a protected Red Book animal, it would have been destroyed. This gives the viper legal protection.

People, unfortunately, do not understand that there are a lot of different, important and necessary things around us - even if it looks unpleasant. And so, to show the extent of biodiversity, I blog.

For example, once I posted a freshwater jellyfish. She shocked many - many thought that this beast is found only in the ocean. At such moments, I understand that everything I do is not in vain. People are starting to pay attention to the little things. This means a more responsible and reasonable attitude to the world around.

And I always encourage others to share their observations. You see a beautiful flower - show it to everyone, post it on social networks.

— An interesting moment about the beauty and admiration of nature. Can you tell us what natural phenomenon or object made the greatest impression on you?

Beauty Shiny and Beauty Girl are two types of dragonflies. I really like them from an aesthetic point of view: blue, with metallic tints... They are even called beauties! These dragonflies can often be found near rivers - this is not a tropical species, but very Russian.

Amethyst lacquer. You look at her - and the feeling that she is like from a cartoon! Or hedgehog coral, which is a fractal icicles. You can look at them endlessly!

In general, when I go for mushrooms, I pursue, of course, and culinary interests. But most often I get out into the forest to take pictures. You can take mushrooms and make a rainbow out of them - in our latitudes there are specimens of all colors of the visible spectrum.

It is believed that all beauty is in the tropics, but we also have beautiful creatures. Take the same bitter bitter ordinary - he has an insanely beautiful iridescent stripe that runs along the body.

Or a tench familiar to everyone fishermen. In muddy water, its charm is hard to discern, but when you put it in an aquarium... A fish that you can admire for hours!

In fact, there are a lot of beautiful ones! At the same time, beautiful is not necessarily bright. It can delight in its shape, design or lifestyle.

For example, shields are crustaceans that live in drying up reservoirs. They have hundreds of legs with which they swim, collect food, and breathe. This is so unusual for us vertebrates that it is amazing.

What does the zoologist advise?

— What applications would you recommend to those who are interested in nature at an amateur level?

- Has an amazing social network iNaturalist. You take a picture of an object - a plant, animal or mushroom, post it, and the neural network, using its databases, automatically determines what it is. If the species is not recognized, iNaturalist members (often professional zoologists) help you identify it.

Also in this application you can see what finds were made in a particular terrain. This helps to study the nature of the area to which you are going. Or vice versa: find on the map a species that you have been looking for for a long time, and go to where it has already been found.

This app has a spin-off: the Seek app. It determines the appearance of a natural object in real time when you point the camera at it. Everyone can use this program - from children to botanists from Moscow State University.

— Are there any events in which a non-zoologist can participate? For example, I heard about sovotour.

— After covid restrictions, it turned out that many people love nature, and travel in Russia became more. Our flora and fauna are infinitely diverse. Therefore, many tours with biologist guides have appeared.

Sovotour, which you are talking about, was organized by my friend Alexei Levashkin. He came up with the idea of ​​holding meetings where people are shown owls.

I also hold meetings - mostly in the city. After all, not everyone has the opportunity to travel far into the forest. Usually I write in social networks: “Meet in the park at so-and-so.”

Each such excursion is special. I don’t know what exactly we will see and what I will talk about: maybe some new mushroom has grown today or a new bird has arrived. But I am well oriented and understand what can be found at this time and in this place.

It is also important for me to talk about what surrounds us: many do not even suspect who you can meet, for example, in a spring puddle.

When I started doing tours, I was surprised how interesting people were. This format is becoming more and more common and is in great demand. I have friends - botany and zoologists who are beginning to do similar things in other cities.

The beauty of the modern world is that now absolutely anyone can organize an event. There are many biologist bloggers who also go on excursions with subscribers and give lectures. My advice is to find one in your city. Or become one.

- Well, since you are studying ants... How to get them out of the apartment?

- (Laughs) The advice is this: use a lot of poisons and traps at the same time. This problem should be treated in the same way as the fight against cockroaches or other unwanted insects in the apartment. Just take and buy everything at once: chalk, pills, and adhesive tape. Only then can they be dealt with. But if it’s really bad, you need to call special services that will pickle the entire apartment.