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| Master Shawn Fernandes |
Having dogs, cats, birds, fish as pets is as
common as having hobbies like collecting stamps, coins, reading and fishing;
even bee-keeping, though rare in Goa is heard of. But keeping ants as pets and
collecting various species simply takes it to another level.
While most of us do not give two hoots to
stamping and killing ants, 12-year-old, Shawn Flavio Fernandes from Benaulim
has developed a unique and rare passion for ants. What commenced as a mere
hobby has now taken a scientific bent that involves classifying them, studying
their life cycle, the habitats in which specific species thrive, the body
systems that keep ants alive and the communication strategies they adopt.
Until recently, Shawn was silently going
about gaining knowledge and developing an understanding about ants from the
internet or books that he came across. It was in the context of a lesson on
Ants that his Standard 7 Science teacher Soraya Menezes chanced to come across
his interest in ants. When his science teacher encountered Shawn, she realized
here was a student with hidden potential.
His knowledge took her by surprise for a lad
his age. She was so overwhelmed with his scientific knowledge of ants that she
calls him a young scientist and she encouraged him to delve deeper. This is where
Shawn hit the limelight.
Moving down memory lane, Shawn recounts that
when six years old, he saw a group of ants of different sizes with wings and
thought he had found something special which led him to surf the net to gain
further understanding. His passion ignited when he browsed upon an episode on
U-tube: ‘How to catch a queen.’ He recalls that he got his first queen on his
wardrobe and that’s where it all began. He adds, “The next day I told a boy in
school and he told me it was a lucky charm as it was one of the most difficult
ant to find, and so I was thrilled. I thought of researching about ants so I
initially began to study their social behaviour and slowly got into studying
the scientific aspects.”
His research has led him to know that there are
about 60 species in Goa that have been classified. He acclaims that each is
very unique, just like us humans, the only difference being, they are small and
vulnerable.
Shawn claims that his research has made him
realize that bees and wasps are the cousins of ants given that they belong to
the same order of Hymenoptera, and he is now developing a keen interest in
their study too.
The first species of ants he had was
Camponotus - ‘carpenter ant’ because of its penchant to excavate wood or the
‘black ant’ in common parlance.
This young myrmecologist (myrmecology is a
branch of entomology focusing on the scientific study of ants) says that in the
year gone by, his collection of ants died. However this did not deter him,
rather he decided not to keep any ants for a while but instead, dedicated his
time to reading about ants.
Shawn claims he benefited from the website
AntsCanada and the person hosting the site helps in identifying ants. There are
other sites where enthusiasts can buy and sell exotic ants; so much so America
has prescribed punishment for smuggling ants. This year Shawn thought of
keeping them as pets. At the moment he has a collection of 12 different ants
some of which have been generously donated to him by his classmates.
From his study, Shawn explains that ants
inhabit tropical, sub-tropical as well as cold regions except the Antarctic.
Goa having a blend of tropical and sub-tropical climatic conditions with high
levels of moisture makes it suitable for a wide range of ant species to thrive.
This 12 year old son of Sandra and Sucorro
Fernandes (who are a great support in nurturing his hobby), also threw light on
the eating habits of ants. Interestingly, contrary to what we tend to believe,
ants do not like sugar in solid form and will never get attracted to crisp dry
sugar. When sugar is exposed to moisture they liquefy it for their consumption.
He rebutted an old belief that the consumption of ants is good for the eyes,
stating that ants contain formic acid used as their stinging agent which is
harmful for the eyes.
Shawn’s hobby would not have developed into a
comprehensive study if not for Ms Soraya Menezes (a science teacher at Loyola
High School, Margao), who encouraged and challenged Shawn and provided him with
opportunities to put forth his passion and whet his appetite to delve deeper
into this subject. Shawn has so far shared his passion with students from St.
Sebastian Primary School (ICSE board), Aquem; students of Std. VI to X at his
own Loyola High School, Margao; Loyola Higher Secondary (biology stream),
Margao and the Department of Zoology, Carmel College for Women, Nuvem.
At these sessions, like a young professor,
Shawn took into his stride the questions his audience bombarded him with;
explaining to them the defense mechanism of ants; that their stings, being
their defense weapons, besides being painful could also paralyze the region for
around 5 to 7 hours. He elaborated on their mating pattern and reproductive
system. He surprised his audience by emphasizing that ants are hygienic
creatures and the students were amused to learn that ants had distinct chambers
in their colonies that served as toilets and cemeteries. His versatility in
connecting to his audience through his little friends the ‘ants’ and the
personal connection he shares with them, which even involves feeding them and
cleaning up their mess, is commendable.
His teacher and now a mentor Soraya says, “These
sessions have made Shawn realize that there is so much more his little brain
needs to grasp about his little friends - the ants. Shawn isn’t a boy who
throws challenges away. It has made him browse the internet, get in touch with
ant-lovers and broaden his horizon on a topic that most of us couldn’t care
less. We wish that Shawn continues developing his scientific temper; this is
what our educational system needs to inculcate in our students - divergent
thinking and exploration.”
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