Greatly bored by the conservatism of science in Germany and by the political developments of the time, Ameisenhaufen emigrated to the United States in 1933, one year after his dismissal. He was accompanied by Mrs. Schulle, his faithful housekeeper, and by his laboratory assistant Hans von Kubert, who stayed by Ameidenhaufen's side up until his farewell to research. It was also Hans who, shortly before his death in 1985, provided us with valuable information about the professor's activities in American exile.

It was a time of extensive work. The professor hardly ever left the laboratory anymore, only in order to study a new specimen in the wild and to capture it, if possible, and transport it home, where it was then prepared by me for dissection. I accompanied the professor on all of his travels around the world; while I photographed the animals in their natural surroundings, the professor sketched them and took notes, which were later transfered onto index cards. On the subject of what actually transpired on these journeys, Hans is strangely silent.