Abstract
THERE IS A MYSTERY to be solved. Certain ants follow people. These “tramp” ants predictably are found in human habitations and areas of high human disturbance, but not in surrounding native habitats. For the past decade, I have been surveying the ant fauna of a rich Neotropical area (Costa Rica), and I constantly am amazed at the specificity and predictability of a handful of tramp species. I can spend person-years cataloging the diversity of a patch of rainforest and not find tramp species, yet I know that I can walk 20 m from the forest to a dining hall or laboratory and find them. These species are a myrmecologist's friends, because they allow me to impress people the world over with my knowledge. I can go to almost any tropical field station in the world, be it in Bolivia or Bali, look at the 1mm long ants running in the sugar bowl, and pronounce “Ah, Tapinoma melanocephalum (F.), I see.” God forbid they ask about the ants in the forest beyond!
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