50 replies to this topic

[TheMicroPlanet]

Keeping Solenopsis Invicta is illegal here in the US for obvious reasons. But apparently, Tetramorium spp. are non-native, but have established colonies here anyway. I know keeping non-native ants is generally discouraged, but what about ants that have found their own niche in the ecosystem (like Tetramorium)? Is it safe to keep them?

Edited by TheMicroPlanet, December 15 2019 - 12:51 PM.

[ponerinecat]

TheMicroPlanet, on 15 Dec 2019 - 8:26 PM, said:

Keeping Solenopsis Invicta is lillegal here in the US for obvious reasons. But apparently, Tetramorium spp. are non-native, but have established colonies here anyway. I know keeping non-native ants is generally discouraged, but what about ants that have found their own niche in the ecosystem (like Tetramorium)? Is it safe to keep them?

Yes.

[TheMicroPlanet]

Thanks.

[Ferox_Formicae]

TheMicroPlanet, on 15 Dec 2019 - 8:26 PM, said:

Keeping Solenopsis Invicta is lillegal here in the US for obvious reasons. But apparently, Tetramorium spp. are non-native, but have established colonies here anyway. I know keeping non-native ants is generally discouraged, but what about ants that have found their own niche in the ecosystem (like Tetramorium)? Is it safe to keep them?

Wait, it's illegal to keep Solenopsis invicta...

[TheMicroPlanet]

In the US it's illegal to keep them, sell them, ship them, etc... But if you live someplace where they're native or where it's strangely legal to keep them, than I guess you can keep them. I'm pretty sure it's only illegal here because they're a pest...

Edited by TheMicroPlanet, December 15 2019 - 12:50 PM.

[Ferox_Formicae]

TheMicroPlanet, on 15 Dec 2019 - 8:48 PM, said:

In the US it's illegal to keep them, sell them, ship them, etc... But if you live someplace where they're native or where it's strangely legal to keep them, than I guess you can keep them. I'm pretty sure it's only illegal here because they're a pest...

Are you from California? That's the only place I've heard of such a law existing. If it is illegal to even keep them, I'm sure pretty much half the users on here have broken the law.

[TheMicroPlanet]

I'm from New York. I discovered this fact on Antkeeping.wiki.  Here's the link: https://www.antkeepi...enopsis_invicta

 

Apparently, California doesn't allow transport or interaction with them, and all of the US bans keeping or selling them (including California)

Edited by TheMicroPlanet, December 15 2019 - 2:11 PM.

[Martialis]

That doesn't sound right at all. WIkis are very fallible.

[TheMicroPlanet]

Well, it'd make sense, at least for the US. Fire ants after all are VERY invasive, so there really should be restrictions anyway.

[camponotuskeeper]

TheMicroPlanet, on 15 Dec 2019 - 10:42 PM, said:

Well, it'd make sense, at least for the US. Fire ants after all are VERY invasive, so there really should be restrictions anyway.

yeah it does make sense but not being allowed to keep them even if their in your yard? That doesn’t make sense cause they could be the only ant species in your yard that you have easy access when nuptial flights occur!

[TheMicroPlanet]

Well, in the wild, there's more of a chance of the colony dying out from natural causes. But in captivity, they can grow to huge sizes like AntsCanada's Fire Nation (AntsCanada is keeping his fire ants perfectly legally, as he lives in the phillipines). And, like the Fire Nation, all fire ants are escape artists, so it's just plain risky. Again, they're invasive to the US and are displacing many native organisms, so the worst thing that could happen is to raise a giant colony in captivity and accidently have them escape.

[Ferox_Formicae]

TheMicroPlanet, on 15 Dec 2019 - 11:07 PM, said:

Well, in the wild, there's more of a chance of the colony dying out from natural causes. But in captivity, they can grow to huge sizes like AntsCanada's Fire Nation (AntsCanada is keeping his fire ants perfectly legally, as he lives in the phillipines). And, like the Fire Nation, all fire ants are escape artists, so it's just plain risky. Again, they're invasive to the US and are displacing many native organisms, so the worst thing that could happen is to raise a giant colony in captivity and accidently have them escape.

Just to clarify, AntsCanada has a colony of Solenopsis geminata, a larger species not native to the Philippines, and has spread around the world and is native here in the US, along with the colorful S. xyloni, S. aurea, and S. amblichila. All of these species are being forced out by the introduced S. invicta, to the point where I've really only ever seen S. geminata in certain areas of the Florida Keys and S. xyloni has been mostly forced out west when it should be spread all over the southern half of the US. Despite this, it does not seem to be illegal to keep S. invicta in the continental US, and even in California you can still keep them, just not sell them.

[TheMicroPlanet]

Alright... thanks for the info

[Zeiss]

It is illegal to transport them outside of and between quarantine zones.  The following link will provide most if not all the information you need about them.

 

https://www.aphis.us...orted_fire_ants

[Ferox_Formicae]

Zeiss, on 16 Dec 2019 - 12:29 AM, said:

It is illegal to transport them outside of and between quarantine zones.  The following link will provide most if not all the information you need about them.

 

https://www.aphis.us...orted_fire_ants

Ah, okay. Thanks for clarifying that.

[ANTdrew]

I think it’s unfair to compare Solenopsis invicta and Tetramorium immigrans. Both are invasive, but there’s really no comparison in terms of environmental destruction.
Keeping a non-native ant *in your house* is really no different than keeping a non-native house plant. It may actually be preferable to catch and remove non-native queens from the local breeding pool. The caveat is that you should not release or move around any invasive species by any means.
For example, I despise English Ivy because it chokes and kills the native trees in my region leaving behind a barren monoculture. I adore the pretty white and green ivy that I have growing in my office, though.

Edited by ANTdrew, December 15 2019 - 5:43 PM.

[TheMicroPlanet]

ANTdrew, on 16 Dec 2019 - 01:35 AM, said:

I think it’s unfair to compare Solenopsis invicta and Tetramorium immigrans. Both are invasive, but there’s really no comparison in terms of environmental destruction.
Keeping a non-native ant *in your house* is really no different than keeping a non-native house plant. It may actually be preferable to catch and remove non-native queens from the local breeding pool. The caveat is that you should not release or move around any invasive species by any means.

If you can keep your ants from escaping, I suppose you have nothing to worry about. But Solenopsis is known for being very crafty when it comes to escaping.

[ANTdrew]

Yeah, S. invicta is probably best left alone. Fluon and good lids could contain them. The bigger problem is that their colonies grow way bigger than the average person really wants to deal with. It’s like a cute gremlin until you feed it after midnight.

[TheMicroPlanet]

When I read that S. Invicta nanitics come after about 2 weeks, I kid you not, I was actually a little stunned. I mean, with that growth rate, could you imagine if they were polygynous?

[Ferox_Formicae]

ANTdrew, on 16 Dec 2019 - 01:35 AM, said:

I think it’s unfair to compare Solenopsis invicta and Tetramorium immigrans. Both are invasive, but there’s really no comparison in terms of environmental destruction.
Keeping a non-native ant *in your house* is really no different than keeping a non-native house plant. It may actually be preferable to catch and remove non-native queens from the local breeding pool. The caveat is that you should not release or move around any invasive species by any means.
For example, I despise English Ivy because it chokes and kills the native trees in my region leaving behind a barren monoculture. I adore the pretty white and green ivy that I have growing in my office, though.

I think it would be fair to compare the two. Solenopsis invicta is a far worse invader than Tetramorium immigrans, and there are some invasive ants out there that have little to no impact on the environment. Take Strumigenys membranifera for example, or Gnamptogenys triangularis, or even Platythyrea punctata. None of those species are common enough to pose a real threat to the environment, and Strumigenys membranifera are to small to worry about at all. They eat springtails, and can easily be forced out by native ant species, and actually live symbiotically with some species. So yeah, it is fair to say that some exotics are worse than others.