ARTIST RECEPTION ~ Monday, July 22nd ~ 5:30-7:30pm

Meet our July artist, Shepherd Myers, at an opening reception on Monday, July 22nd from 5:30 – 7:30 pm in our Gallery. Light refreshments will be served.  Come and see the July exhibit entitled Ants: Earth’s Terrestrial Landlords, and then meet the talented artist behind the highly technical drawings.  Learn about Shepherd’s experience as an entomologist, and how his curiosity and creativity gave rise to these beautifully detailed illustrations currently on display.

About the exhibit & the artist:

On display in our Gallery this month is a collection of technical illustration prints by Shepherd Myers of ants that can be found throughout the world. The drawings reveal in great detail the characteristics and uniqueness of these small but mighty insects. More commonly noticed as pests when they interfere with human activity, these scaled up illustrations of ants reveal the vast array of morphology (morph = form, ology = to study) of all the individual species. This exhibit is educational, informative and beautifully rendered. It will be on display in the Gallery for the month of July.

Ants are among the most dominant organisms of the world and make up 10 to 15 percent of the entire animal biomass. The approximately 8,800 known species can be found from the arctic circle to as far south as Tasmania – only some Polynesian islands east of Tonga have no native ant species. Their role in terrestrial ecology is vast: they turn more soil then earthworms, are channelers of energy, and dominatrices of other insects as lead predators of other insects and invertebrates. As invasive pests they are some of the most destructive insects of Central and South America, damaging crops to hospitalization from stinging. As eusocial colonies or superorganisms they live in complex caste systems, with division of labor including a queen for reproduction, soldiers, workers and minors who strictly tend to the brood.

Shepherd Myers is an entomologist and illustrator who previously was the Collection Manager at the The Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum for over a decade in Honolulu. At fourteen million specimens, it is the largest Pacific Rim and the third largest insect collection in the United States. He has done extensive science outreach with school groups, class room visits, at fairs, festivals, etc, and enjoys teaching as much as working with research and collections. He has also had his illustrations, photos and technical figures published in peer-reviewed journals.