Building Beautiful Worlds
Highlighted Projects
We have collaborated with museums, universities, zoos, and artists to design inspiring exhibits and solve ant-oriented challenges.
Audubon Insectarium
Honeypot Ants
In the bayou city of New Orleans, a new honeypot ant colony (Myrmecocystus mexicanus) is nested in the Audubon Insectarium. Installed in June 2025, this colony is filled with glittering repletes, busy workers, and a prolific queen.
"I can’t tell you the number of times I have walked by the exhibit on my way to something and overhear the guests asking questions about the ants. I stop every time at the opportunity to talk with them about my favorite insects out there, and it wouldn’t have been possible to do without all the hard work from Miles and Trapjaw Science Communications. They have Audubon Insectarium’s stamp of approval!"
- Bradley Hiatt, Assistant Curator of Entomology at Audubon Butterfly Garden and Insectarium
University of Florida Natural History Museum
Twig Ants +
Carpenter Ants
Over 200 species of ants make their home in Florida's sandy soil and moss-laden treetops. This exhibit hosts a shiny, charismatic carpenter ant (Camponotus floridanus), and uses a novel twig nest setup to magnify a colony of energetic twig ants (Pseudomyrmex gracilis). Highlighting the diversity of ant behaviors in a mobile multi-species display, this exhibit was on display at the Florida Museum of Natural History in 2024, and now welcomes visitors at the entrance of the University of Florida's world-renowned Department of Entomology and Nematology.
Living Desert Zoo
Naked Mole Rats, Banded Mongoose, & Dwarf Mongoose
It's not all ants! Naked mole rats are small, nearly hairless mammals that live in the sandy soils of Africa. Their colonies can stretch across large cool cavernous areas, amazing visitors and reminding us that we are not the only eusocial mammal. This exhibit was built in collaboration with Work as Play and was installed at the Palm Desert Living Desert Zoo and Gardens in Summer 2021.
Manami Ishamura
"In One Breath"
Harvester Ants
This large harvester ant nest is an art installation collaboration with Manami Ishamura, visual artist and educator. Installed in Columbus, Ohio, in Fall 2024, this poignant piece combined live harvester ants
(Pogonomyrmex occidentalis), intricate glasswork, and an agar-cast placenta to symbolize the complexity of pregnancy and the life-giving power of a womb.