A Nova documentary about Ed Wilson’s work in the areas of ants and sociobiology mentioned a website called the Encyclopedia of Life. This website is the brainchild of Ed Wilson and intrigued me. I have always loved the being in the outdoors as well as knowing about it and what lives in it. This website was built to be a complete encyclopedia of every living species on earth, forever growing until the very last species has been discovered and documented.
While that in itself is incredibly impressive, it is not what initially intrigued me about the site. The site also provides incredible pictures or drawings of the animals and information about them. With these pictures, what the website really provides is a master list of the designs produced in nature. Often a detail in nature inspires my work, and this website provides a close look at nature that is not available in Spokane, WA.
For example, if I were in need of a design for an alien in a logo, why not base it off of the Harpegnathos saltator, more commonly referred to as the Jumping Ant. The particular ant would be an impressively scary alien, yet it also provides a pattern on it’s head that could be interesting for other uses.
Or how about the design seen on the back of Macrochelys temminckii for part of a MySpace header image? (That one is the Alligator Snapping Turtle).
Whether your interested in the information about the animals, insects on the site, or simply looking to copy a wonderful design that nature already created, the Encyclopedia of life is a great resource brought to your courtesy of Ed Wilson and hundreds of hardworking scientists around the world.
The documentary that inspired this, named Lord of the Ants, is available to watch online here.