Recently, AntsEmporium came under the spotlight with a heavily debated issue regarding Camponotus discolor and Camponotus decipiens.
As the owner of AntsEmporium, I feel I need to address this publicly to ensure the community knows not only my take on the issue, but also that it has since been fixed.
I never had the intention of selling miss ID'd ants, to be fair I was under the impression I was selling Camponotus discolor, of course after all the facts have been presented it appears it may have been a mixture of the two species since they both occur in the same geographical ranges. I do however have permits to distribute both species, so if you have received a colony from me within the last year, do not worry the ants are still 100% legal. After talking extensively to Cheeto about this issue he brought up, I decided it was in AntsEmporiums best interest to include a disclaimer regarding this issue, hand written by Cheeto to ensure the hobby is properly informed about what they are purchasing. I meant no wrong doing in selling solely Camponotus discolor over the past year, and am glad the situation has been resolved. This information has also been forwarded to THA.
Below is a link to the new description:
https://antsemporium...onotus-discolor
Also TarHeelAnts has added a similar disclaimer
It is important to note that this issue was already handled internally between THA and the USDA through multiple conversations throughout 2021. Mack has also been in touch with his USDA representative constantly over the past year about this situation. Mack and I are going to continue the investigation of their true identity (these ants have hairs on their heads where C. decipiens does not) through the use of DNA sequencing, pending additional help from the scientific community. We will update the results of this process once it has been completed and reviewed thoroughly.
Thank you all for your time, good luck on the upcoming season and Happy Anting!!!
Edited by attagarrett, March 5 2022 - 9:58 AM.
