8 replies to this topic

[Manitobant]

Hello guys! While in Florida I decided to do an experiment: I basically collected a wasmannia auropunctata colony with only infertile (winged) queens and males to see if they would mate and double clone to create more alates. One of the queens has shed her wings so I’m guessing that she has indeed mated with a male alate. We will still have to wait to see if more workers arrive though.

NOTE: can we PLEASE not turn this lighthearted experiment into a “let’s all argue about shipping exotics” thread. I only brought them so I could study them in a safe environment.

[YsTheAnt]

I'm not trying to be "that guy", but moving such an invasive and potentially harmful species into places that haven't been infected is extremely harmful for the local environment.

A hobbyist's home is not a safe place to study pests like this. The polygynous nature of these ants is well known, and if the queen you have was indeed fertilized, they could run rampant and greatly reduce species diversity.

I'm going to make an assumption and say that you and whoever else is partaking in this experiment likely do not have the proper containment measures to contain such an invasive species.

If they do get out, they will wreck arachnid populations, destroy biodiversity, and possibly get you in serious trouble. Do the world a favor and euthanize them, it's for the best.

[Leo]

Hello guys! While in Florida I decided to do an experiment: I basically collected a wasmannia auropunctata colony with only infertile (winged) queens and males to see if they would mate and double clone to create more alates. One of the queens has shed her wings so I’m guessing that she has indeed mated with a male alate. We will still have to wait to see if more workers arrive though.

NOTE: can we PLEASE not turn this lighthearted experiment into a “let’s all argue about shipping exotics” thread. I only brought them so I could study them in a safe environment.

 

I'm not trying to be "that guy", but moving such an invasive and potentially harmful species into places that haven't been infected is extremely harmful for the local environment.

A hobbyist's home is not a safe place to study pests like this. The polygynous nature of these ants is well known, and if the queen you have was indeed fertilized, they could run rampant and greatly reduce species diversity.

I'm going to make an assumption and say that you and whoever else is partaking in this experiment likely do not have the proper containment measures to contain such an invasive species.

If they do get out, they will wreck arachnid populations, destroy biodiversity, and possibly get you in serious trouble. Do the world a favor and euthanize them, it's for the best.

XD I occasionally ship species in from across china

Edited by Leo, April 6 2019 - 10:08 PM.

[ANTdrew]

I'm not trying to be "that guy", but moving such an invasive and potentially harmful species into places that haven't been infected is extremely harmful for the local environment.

A hobbyist's home is not a safe place to study pests like this. The polygynous nature of these ants is well known, and if the queen you have was indeed fertilized, they could run rampant and greatly reduce species diversity.

I'm going to make an assumption and say that you and whoever else is partaking in this experiment likely do not have the proper containment measures to contain such an invasive species.

If they do get out, they will wreck arachnid populations, destroy biodiversity, and possibly get you in serious trouble. Do the world a favor and euthanize them, it's for the best.

I second this suggestion. It’s simply not worth the risk. Learn to love your local ants and help preserve their diversity.

[Serafine]

Congratulations on illegally importing one of the 100 worst invasive and environmentally most destructive organisms on the entire planet into your country.

This is the reason why at some point people won't even be allowed to keep native ants anymore.

[Manitobant]

Ok the ants have been frozen. I wasn’t meaning any harm by it but you’re right and I couldn’t risk it. I do have a question though: is there any native Canadian species that don’t require hibernation? It’s just a big inconvenience and that’s the main reason I wanted to start this experiment.

[rbarreto]

Thank you for doing the right thing. You can probably get away with not hibernating Tetramorium immigrans. I usually have to force them into hibernation when they aren't ready simply because they refuse to stop growing. It might affect the colony's long term health though.

[Serafine]

Some Serviformica species tend to do the same. They will likely do a diapause at some random point though (even in the midst of summer) but from what I've read they can go up to two years without stopping (some colonies may decide to not hibernate at all).

 

Hibernation isn't all bad though. You don't need to feed them (or a lot less when they have weak hibernation), you can properly clean up their outworlds (some ant species can make a lot of dirt and you don't want to try cleaning up their mess while thousands of angry ants swarm at you) and at the end of their hibernation period you can prepare and rearrange the entire setup without constantly having to deal with ants on your hands and all over the place. Winter also is a perfect time to make new formicaria, new outworlds and generally increase your knowledge about your ants (we didn't get to it this year due to organization issues but for next winter we're planing to do some DIY contests and events on the Discord server to keep people busy while their ants are sleeping).

 

And at some point you're probably glad your ants stop growing for a while, too

Edited by Serafine, April 7 2019 - 9:56 AM.

[ANTdrew]

You made the right choice, and I commend you for it. What about hibernating is inconvenient? Is it space or simply not having ants to observe because I get both concerns. I think Tetramorium ants and Tapinoma sessile can get away with not hibernating.
Other Canadian ant keepers reverse hibernate some of their colonies, so they have active ants all year. You could try something like that, perhaps?

Edited by ANTdrew, April 7 2019 - 10:27 AM.