Mark Deyrup
Archbold Biological Station
email: MDeyrup@archbold-station.org

     I work at the Archbold Biological Station in south-central Florida, where I have many projects dealing with various insects and spiders, and encourage and support the work of visiting entomologists. I arrived here about 20 years ago, and was much struck by the diversity and dominance of ants, compared with areas where I had lived to the north. Soon after I arrived, James Trager came to the station to study Paratrechina, and helped me get started cataloging the ants of the station. (Currently, 115 species of ants are known from the 5000 acres of the ABS). Slowly the project on the identification and natural history of the ants of this region grew, until I ended up working on the entire fauna of Florida, with an eye on the Southeast in general. My plan is to produce an illustrated guide to the ants of region. It is going slowly because there are many residual taxonomic riddles in the area, even though the Southeast has been a favorite area of many excellent myrmecologists. I am lucky to be associated with some enthusiastic and knowledgeable collectors, especially Lloyd Davis and Zack Prusak. I often take my most confusing cases (e.g. Solenopsis carolinensis, texana, and tonsa) to Stefan Cover, who can usually reassure me by confirming that confusion is a reasonable reaction.