50 replies to this topic

[Ferox_Formicae]

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?

For one, no. It takes about a month for them to get nanitics. Two, they are polygynous.

 

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.

What is cute about them to begin with? I mean, except for the queens. They look innocent enough...

[TheMicroPlanet]

Are there any other antkeeping sites besides this one and Antkeeping.wiki? I'm having some trouble finding more.

[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?

For one, no. It takes about a month for them to get nanitics. Two, they are polygynous.

 

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.

What is cute about them to begin with? I mean, except for the queens. They look innocent enough...

Oh wow everything about my sentence was wrong    do you know of any respectable antkeeping sites besides antkeeping.wiki? I can see some problems already...

Edited by TheMicroPlanet, December 15 2019 - 5:57 PM.

[Ferox_Formicae]

Are there any other antkeeping sites besides this one and Antkeeping.wiki? I'm having some trouble finding more.

I know there's one on Tapatalk, but other than that, I'm not too sure. I'm more in tune with ant information sites like AntWeb, AntMaps, AntWiki, and parts of iNaturalist.

[TheMicroPlanet]

Now  I question all my ant knowledge. Does Lasius even exist?

 

I've been using AntMaps and AntWiki, and i'm just starting to use Ant Web and, of course, this place.

Edited by TheMicroPlanet, December 15 2019 - 5:59 PM.

[Aaron567]

There doesn't appear to be any law that would prohibit you from keeping a captive Solenopsis invicta colony while inside their quarantine zone (or even outside of the quarantine zone?) unless someone else can point out something specifically. If you read the rest of that "Ant Keeping Wiki" article you may quickly see that the person who wrote it doesn't appear to know what they're talking about, as it is riddled with both questionable and incorrect information.

 

To the original point, yes, you can keep Tetramorium immigrans without making anyone angry. Releasing a captive colony of them back into the wild might be considered unethical by some, because they're known to displace some native ants in the areas where their populations are the most dense. The majority of non-native ants in the US aren't invasive, so keeping those species isn't much different from keeping native ants. The most well-known and destructive invasive ants are usually the only ones with special laws associated with them.

[TheMicroPlanet]

There doesn't appear to be any law that would prohibit you from keeping a captive Solenopsis invicta colony while inside their quarantine zone (or even outside of the quarantine zone?) unless someone else can point out something specifically. If you read the rest of that "Ant Keeping Wiki" article you may quickly see that the person who wrote it doesn't appear to know what they're talking about, as it is riddled with both questionable and incorrect information.

 

To the original point, yes, you can keep Tetramorium immigrans without making anyone angry. Releasing a captive colony of them back into the wild might be considered unethical by some, because they're known to displace some native ants in the areas where their populations are the most dense. The majority of non-native ants in the US aren't invasive, so keeping those species isn't much different from keeping native ants. The most well-known and destructive invasive ants are usually the only ones with special laws associated with them.

Thanks for the info. Given this entire conversation, I think i'm going to use Antkeeping.wiki a lot less now.

[Ferox_Formicae]

Now  I question all my ant knowledge. Does Lasius even exist?

 

I've been using AntMaps and AntWiki, and i'm just starting to use Ant Web and, of course, this place.

Oh yeah, Lasius definitely exists, though it seems to be in need of a revision.

[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.

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.

I don’t understand your point. That Solenopsis invicta is a far worse invader is exactly what I was trying to say.

[Ferox_Formicae]

 

 

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.

I don’t understand your point. That Solenopsis invicta is a far worse invader is exactly what I was trying to say.

 

Oh, I'm sorry. I misunderstood you...

[RushmoreAnts]

 

Now  I question all my ant knowledge. Does Lasius even exist?

 

I've been using AntMaps and AntWiki, and i'm just starting to use Ant Web and, of course, this place.

Oh yeah, Lasius definitely exists, though it seems to be in need of a revision.

 

You want Lasius? The whole state of South Dakota is so overran with the genus and Formica that Tetramorium has barely managed to get a foothold, at least in my neighborhood. 

[TheMicroPlanet]

I kind of said that comment about Lasius in sarcasm 

Edited by TheMicroPlanet, December 16 2019 - 3:30 PM.

[Antennal_Scrobe]

The only exotic species that would be wrong to keep would be one that could become established in your area, but hasn't. So essentially, if you can find it in your neighborhood, if it can't live outdoors, or if it is something like Strumigenys or Gnamptogenys which simply can't escape, proliferate, or harm the environment in any meaningful way, you are fine.

[DDD101DDD]

 

 

Now  I question all my ant knowledge. Does Lasius even exist?

 

I've been using AntMaps and AntWiki, and i'm just starting to use Ant Web and, of course, this place.

Oh yeah, Lasius definitely exists, though it seems to be in need of a revision.

 

You want Lasius? The whole state of South Dakota is so overran with the genus and Formica that Tetramorium has barely managed to get a foothold, at least in my neighborhood. 

 

Here Tetramorium is pretty common.

[ponerinecat]

Are there any other antkeeping sites besides this one and Antkeeping.wiki? I'm having some trouble finding more.

Discord is helpful, if you can put up with a lot of random stuff. Antwiki is pretty good too.

Edited by ponerinecat, December 16 2019 - 5:26 PM.

[OhNoNotAgain]

There are also Facebook ant discussion groups. Though I think this forum is more helpful overall.

[Antennal_Scrobe]

AntWiki is written by myrmecologists only, so it has the most definitive scientific information.

[SuperFrank]

There is no federal law that says it is illegal to possess Solenopsis invicta to my knowledge. Transport across state lines or outside of the RIFA quarantine zone is of course prohibited but idk about simple possession.

[SuperFrank]

Whether keeping a non-native species is morally acceptable or not is completely a matter of subjective opinion. You should never release captive colonies into the wild in any case, native or exotic, so in theory it wouldn't matter their status as long as you were a responsible keeper and terminated them if/when you no longer wished to keep them.

Edited by SuperFrank, December 29 2019 - 5:35 PM.

[TheMicroPlanet]

You know, I was really just asking if I could keep Tetramorium here in New York. I thought I saw a queen a few months ago (I could be mistaken) so I thought I should ask.