20 replies to this topic

[mamr123]

I have cared for a Camponotus quercicola colony for the past 3 years (they are 4 years old), and am thinking about releasing them.  

 

I was thinking that it would be good to release a native species back into its habitat, especially in an area where native ants are in decline.  I have felt like the colony isn't thriving under my care, and that releasing them was the best idea for them, and might also give them a chance to reproduce and add them back to the local population.

 

But I was reading some other posts that were saying it isn't good to release back into nature?

 

Any advice is appreciated!

 

[JoeByron]

I would do your research at where they tend to normally live, and release them there.

 

Though I find him fairly annoying, I do agree that antscanada is a brilliant myrmecologist. He has released numerous colonies of his. 

 

Heres a video of him releasing one of his: 

 

If you are not sure, think about putting them up for adoption, I'm sure people here would like an established colony. I've given some to school science teachers. Maybe consider contacting some schools?

[gcsnelling]

Don't do it.

[Fatatoille]

I wouldn't recommend it, typically, most large colonies in the wild grow from a single queen and the environmental variables allowing for the colonies maintained survival are stabilized as the colony grows, allowing for a maintained equilibrium between survival of the colony and other factors within a closed system. By introducing a colony to a new area, none of these variables are in place and the chances of survival are next to zero, especially if this is a small colony we are talking about. In other words, unless you are rigorously evaluating a given area to introduce a colony to, the chances of survival of aforementioned colony is null and void.

 

This article should give you an idea of the effort required to ensure a colonies survival after introduction http://file://r004-v...0533-v2 (1).pdf

 

Obviously, there are certain species that have a bit more versatility in different ecosystems (any invasive for example), though I am highly dubious that camponotus quercicola of all things is going to survive a harsh new environment with no prior experience, let alone prosper.

best thing to do is just keep them in captivity, all ants do better in a closed environment, given the right provisions. Perhaps you could offer some further detail on the colony, we might be able to help. 

 

 

I would do your research at where they tend to normally live, and release them there.

 

Though I find him fairly annoying, I do agree that antscanada is a brilliant myrmecologist. He has released numerous colonies of his. 

 

Heres a video of him releasing one of his: 

 

 

Keep in mind, AC's monomorium pharonis was an established invasive that forms vast supercolonies with many thousands of workers and queens, the chances of the colonies survival are way higher than most, and to put it lightly, this is a bit of a special case. Moreover, AC is the last 'antkeeper' you want to be taking advice from in his modern videos, he's a showman, an actor; someone who knows their way around provoking emotion, not the ways of science and reasoning.

Edited by Fatatoille, April 30 2021 - 4:02 AM.

[Chickalo]

I wouldn't recommend it, typically, most large colonies in the wild grow from a single queen and the environmental variables allowing for the colonies maintained survival are stabilized as the colony grows, allowing for a maintained equilibrium between survival of the colony and other factors within a closed system. By introducing a colony to a new area, none of these variables are in place and the chances of survival are next to zero, especially if this is a small colony we are talking about. In other words, unless you are rigorously evaluating a given area to introduce a colony to, the chances of survival of aforementioned colony is null and void.

 

This article should give you an idea of the effort required to ensure a colonies survival after introduction http://file://r004-v...0533-v2 (1).pdf

 

Obviously, there are certain species that have a bit more versatility in different ecosystems (any invasive for example), though I am highly dubious that camponotus quercicola of all things is going to survive a harsh new environment with no prior experience, let alone prosper.

best thing to do is just keep them in captivity, all ants do better in a closed environment, given the right provisions. Perhaps you could offer some further detail on the colony, we might be able to help. 

 

 

I would do your research at where they tend to normally live, and release them there.

 

Though I find him fairly annoying, I do agree that antscanada is a brilliant myrmecologist. He has released numerous colonies of his. 

 

Heres a video of him releasing one of his: 

 

 

Keep in mind, AC's monomorium pharonis was an established invasive that forms vast supercolonies with many thousands of workers and queens, the chances of the colonies survival are way higher than most, and to put it lightly, this is a bit of a special case. Moreover, AC is the last 'antkeeper' you want to be taking advice from in his modern videos, he's a showman, an actor; someone who knows their way around provoking emotion, not the ways of science and reasoning.

What if he had the ants access to the outside, allowing for a smooth and slow transition into the wild?  I also think that putting them up for "adoption" to a school or something is a good idea.  I'm going to try to keep this bit short since AC conversations never end well, but everyone has their opinions on him, so watch his videos and decide yours (I do find his old videos better than his newer).  If you wish to help the native species, how about releasing some alates into the wild during nuptial flights?  Allow them to fly out but workers remain inside.

[ANTdrew]

Why not try to sell them? 98% of customers just want Camponotus anyway. Because big ants.

[Kaelwizard]

C. quericola is now referred to as C. laevigatus. It recently was decided it is a synonym of it. Also to JoeByron, AC is NOT a myrmecologist. He is an actor and singer (and a YouTuber obviously). He has no qualification to be a myrmecologist.

[Fatatoille]

Slow transition is not that bad of an idea, in theory at least. I have seen a setup involving a large Lasius Niger having access to the outside with their nest through a viewing aquarium on the interior, though they eventually moved out.

Though in practice, I can’t see this working on a casual scale, keep in mind that most disturbed land in southern USA possesses a lot of invasive species, so if The user is offering a slow transition via an opening to the outside from the comfort of their own home, what’s to say a group of Argentines don’t enter the nest and kill the colony, can’t say that will end well. Not to mention the user has given next to no information of this colony aside from the species so it’s kind of hard to reach any reasonable conclusion with this idea, though in general it seems as though a slow transition would be too hard to maintain without consideration for invasives.

Selling the colony is a completely viable option and I do agree that this should be considered, though I would like to know if there is any reason why the colony is doing badly, if the OP would like to disclose any further information. I wouldn’t want to see a colony already in bad shape be past on to some other random keeper who knows no better, just seems like a game of hot potato otherwise.

In regards to The Whole AC debacle, AC is just unreliable when it comes to scientific information and as such should not be treated as a reliable source, let alone greeted with the underserved title of myrmecologist. I simply wanted to comment on that in the context it was brought up, not as a general topic, although it may have come across that way.

Thank you for informing me about the incorrect classification, I need to keep more up to date with the taxonomy revisions.

[Manitobant]

I would do your research at where they tend to normally live, and release them there.
 
Though I find him fairly annoying, I do agree that antscanada is a brilliant myrmecologist. He has released numerous colonies of his. 
 
Heres a video of him releasing one of his: https://www.youtube....h?v=LBm2opM2vIk
 
If you are not sure, think about putting them up for adoption, I'm sure people here would like an established colony. I've given some to school science teachers. Maybe consider contacting some schools?

do not use AC as a source. He gets a lot of things wrong. Releasing a colony isn’t recommended as it can potentially spread disease to wild colonies. Also, the colony has probably adapted to captivity and won’t be able to survive in the wild.

[gs5248]

Yeah. Just sell it. Like ANTdrew said, someone is going to buy it.

[nurbs]

`

 

C. quericola is now referred to as C. laevigatus. It recently was decided it is a synonym of it. Also to JoeByron, AC is NOT a myrmecologist. He is an actor and singer (and a YouTuber obviously). He has no qualification to be a myrmecologist.

 

No, C. quercicola is still C. quercicola. You are misunderstanding that paper. I understand some places have changed this, but taxon names go back and forth. I wouldn't call that official by any means.

 

 

I do agree that antscanada is a brilliant myrmecologist. 

 

 Hope are you being sarcastic.

Edited by nurbs, April 30 2021 - 4:24 PM.

[CheetoLord02]

`

 

C. quericola is now referred to as C. laevigatus. It recently was decided it is a synonym of it. Also to JoeByron, AC is NOT a myrmecologist. He is an actor and singer (and a YouTuber obviously). He has no qualification to be a myrmecologist.

 

No, C. quercicola is still C. quercicola. You are misunderstanding that paper. I understand some places have changed this, but taxon names go back and forth. I wouldn't call that official by any means.

 

 

https://www.antwiki....otus_quercicola

I'd really like to know why the community is so against the C. quercicola synonymization. Nearly every Californian I've spoken to about it has insisted that C. quercicola is its own species.

From the recent paper:

"Examination of the lectotype image (Fig. 7A,) shows that Camponotus laevigatus is conspecific with Ca. quercicola, a widespread California species that nests in the trunks and branches of oak trees (Gadau et al. 1999) (Fig. 7C, D). Mackay (2019) claimed that Ca. laevigatus differs from Ca. quercicola in having reduced pilosity on the head, but the lectotype is an old specimen in which the hairs are evidently abraded. Note the asymmetry in presence of hairs on the two sides of the head in the AntWeb image (e.g., short setae present on the left malar region but not on the right side) (Fig. 7A). Moreover, the amount of standing pilosity shows considerable variation in workers of Ca. quercicola, including setation on the malar region (Smith 1954; Gadau et al. 1999). We have examined a large series of Camponotus quercicola from throughout California, and we find that the type of Ca. laevigatus falls easily within the range of variation exhibited by this species. Mackay (2019: 321) also stated that the male and queen of Ca. quercicola (now Ca. laevigatus) are unknown, but this is incorrect: they were described and illustrated by Gadau et al. (1999) and compared with related species."
 

Edited by CheetoLord02, April 30 2021 - 5:48 PM.

[NickAnter]

Supposedly C. quercicola only ever nests in Live Oak trees, whereas C. laevigatus almost always lives in downed pine trees. I have only personally seen laevigatus, and to me it looked considerably different than the quercicola pictures I have seen, with the more noticeable white hairs.

[mamr123]

Thank you for all of the advice!!  I actually am a teacher and the colony has been in my 1st Grade classroom for the past 3 years (they are on a shelf, so they are usually out of kid reach).

 

At first they seemed to do very well, and the population was growing, but recently it has dropped off some-- I think it is around 20 workers right now.  I've tried to follow all of the advice I have read on this site about hibernating and feeding, but recently the ants haven't seemed as interested in what I've been feeding them, and I've been too busy to really experiment and observe closely.  The whole colony did get knocked over by a student a few weeks ago, and ever since then I've been thinking it is time to find them a better home.  

 

I really do want to help preserve the native ant populations, so had been thinking of hiking to a live oak forest and releasing them there, but after reading all of your advice, it sounds like finding them a new home would be the better option.  

 

Any advice on how to find a buyer?  I'd also be happy to donate them, but I think they would be better off in a non-school setting, as they have had a lot of time in busy/loud environments, and that doesn't seem to be helping them thrive.

 

 

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[Ecan]

Thank you for all of the advice!! I actually am a teacher and the colony has been in my 1st Grade classroom for the past 3 years (they are on a shelf, so they are usually out of kid reach).

At first they seemed to do very well, and the population was growing, but recently it has dropped off some-- I think it is around 20 workers right now. I've tried to follow all of the advice I have read on this site about hibernating and feeding, but recently the ants haven't seemed as interested in what I've been feeding them, and I've been too busy to really experiment and observe closely. The whole colony did get knocked over by a student a few weeks ago, and ever since then I've been thinking it is time to find them a better home.

I really do want to help preserve the native ant populations, so had been thinking of hiking to a live oak forest and releasing them there, but after reading all of your advice, it sounds like finding them a new home would be the better option.

Any advice on how to find a buyer? I'd also be happy to donate them, but I think they would be better off in a non-school setting, as they have had a lot of time in busy/loud environments, and that doesn't seem to be helping them thrive.

What state are you in, if you are in California I'd be happy to buy them.

[mamr123]

I am in San Francisco, CA

[Ecan]

Ok, I sent you a message.

[dspdrew]

C. quericola is now referred to as C. laevigatus. It recently was decided it is a synonym of it.

 

Do you have something i can read about this? it makes no sense at all. Those two species are completely different.

[ANTdrew]

Snelling posted an article about it last week.

[Kaelwizard]

 

C. quericola is now referred to as C. laevigatus. It recently was decided it is a synonym of it.

 

Do you have something i can read about this? it makes no sense at all. Those two species are completely different.

 

https://www.formicul...xonomy-changes/