Today we have a special treat: Another delicious watercolor sketch from biologist and illustrator, Dr. Jennifer Landin. You may recall Jennifer’s action sketch of the overprotective red-shouldered hawk a couple weeks ago.

Last weekend, Jennifer had a close encounter with ants in her kitchen. And by close encounter, I mean hundreds of ants attacked a fresh-out-of-the-oven birthday cake she left to cool in her kitchen.

Like any good biologist, Jennifer wasn’t satisfied surrendering her cake to unidentified ants. She consulted Dr. Eleanor’s Book of Common Ants and the Who Ate My Cookie? Urban Ant Key to learn the identity of her tiny cake marauders. She busted out her old microscope and checked out the hairiness of their rumps (abdomens), the shape of their antennae, the number of humps between each one’s thorax and abdomen (petioles). She squished and sniffed. And then she sketched.

Her best guess after close inspection: Odorous house ants (Tapinoma sessile).

Stayed tuned to the Your Wild Life blog for more of Jennifer’s sketches. We’re looking forward to highlighting her work as part of a recurring Science Art series. Click over to Jennifer’s blog, Red Newt Gallery, for more of her illustrations.

If you’re local to the Raleigh-Durham area, you can also check out Jennifer’s work as well as that of other members of The Carolinas Chapter of the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators in the Art of Science Exhibition at the Museum of Life + Science in Durham (June 1- September 30, 2014).