It’s an important step to bio-literacy, an entomologist notes in the Google Blog, and the first step will be taken by the humble ant.
Sometimes the burning questions are easy to answer: who’s the better captain, Kirk or Picard? Ask Google and it will give you a hundred reasons why Kirk is better.
More difficult questions can be answered with Google’s help as well. California Academy of Sciences Associate Curator of Entomology, Brian L. Fisher, explains how Google Earth helps answer the question: “What kind of ants are in my backyard?”
Dr. Fisher claims that literacy advances at the expense of bio-literacy. But with AntWeb he thinks bio-literacy has a chance to catch up now. Users of Google Earth can plot all the ants known to AntWeb on a 3D interactive globe, the site notes.
Maybe AntWeb should be called Google AntSense instead. The good doctor has been so enthused by Google’s help, he dedicated a new species of the backyard critters to Googlers:
We tried to get NASA’s help to develop such a system for years with their mapping expertise and data, but Google Earth answered the call first. I am so impressed with Google that I have named an ant I recently discovered in Madagascar Proceratium google. Its bizarrely-shaped abdomen is an adaptation for hunting down obscure prey: spider eggs.
Now we just need Dr. Fisher to locate spider eggs with the logos of Microsoft and Yahoo on them to make the world of entomology truly exciting to the technology media who cover search engine companies.
David Utter is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business. Email him here.
