2 replies to this topic

[FloridaAnts]

In late May, i caught sight of a worker with two little dots on each side of his gaster. Very weird… a few days later I saw one with just a single little dot. It was hard to find and get a good picture, but I did it. Would anybody care to tell me if these are beneficial mites or will they slowly kill the ant?

(It’s C. Floridanus)

[attachment=12747:15C92B2C-9515-4877-B7B3-C4AF29F92725.jpeg]

[futurebird]

Identifying mites is a whole science project. You really need to capture one of the mites and get it under high magnification. Even then, without training in all the MITEutiae of the subject it's hard. So no one here is likely to spit out a species name easily. 

My thinking on mites is that they seem to be linked to higher humidity. It's one of the reason I water my nests much less or not at all. Second I have a theory that many people find that their colony dies and is covered by mites, so they blame the mites, but really mites just take advantage of less healthy ants. So a third factor making ants sick or weak or inter-fearing with grooming could be at play. Mites, fungus, bacteria are probably always present in colonies, just as our bodies are often covered in germs ... only when the ants are weakened do such things take over. The isolated nature of pet colonies leads to homogenous population explosions of just one or two species. 

Ant colonies aren't delicate orchids. Camponotus floridanus is a robust species that can even be a pest. The nightmare of seeing one mite then it reproduces and takes the colony down isn't as likely as some horror stories seem to suggest. 

If you can spot the same mites in their trash the chances are higher that they are harmless. 

I saw some mites on my Camponotus pennsylvanicus colony last year, I was super worried. I tried to introduce predatory mites which can be bought online, but this didn't do much. Since the mites were only on two of the ants I removed them, gave them a bath, checked the mites were gone and have never seen any mites again. I don't even know if this step was really needed. It was clear the impacted ants were both nanitics, they were the oldest and smallest of the colony. Looking back I think they were just getting old and became susceptible. There were probably still eggs or smaller mites still in that nest, but they never took hold. (The mites came from a house spider that I fed them. Since then I've been strict about freezing food that isn't grown as a feeder.)


So in short I'd suggest removing the ants with mites if you can and then thinking about if maybe conditions are too damp. 

I can't really find them in your photo... could you crop it to show where they are?

[FloridaAnts]

Identifying mites is a whole science project. You really need to capture one of the mites and get it under high magnification. Even then, without training in all the MITEutiae of the subject it's hard. So no one here is likely to spit out a species name easily.
My thinking on mites is that they seem to be linked to higher humidity. It's one of the reason I water my nests much less or not at all. Second I have a theory that many people find that their colony dies and is covered by mites, so they blame the mites, but really mites just take advantage of less healthy ants. So a third factor making ants sick or weak or inter-fearing with grooming could be at play. Mites, fungus, bacteria are probably always present in colonies, just as our bodies are often covered in germs ... only when the ants are weakened do such things take over. The isolated nature of pet colonies leads to homogenous population explosions of just one or two species.
Ant colonies aren't delicate orchids. Camponotus floridanus is a robust species that can even be a pest. The nightmare of seeing one mite then it reproduces and takes the colony down isn't as likely as some horror stories seem to suggest.
If you can spot the same mites in their trash the chances are higher that they are harmless.
I saw some mites on my Camponotus pennsylvanicus colony last year, I was super worried. I tried to introduce predatory mites which can be bought online, but this didn't do much. Since the mites were only on two of the ants I removed them, gave them a bath, checked the mites were gone and have never seen any mites again. I don't even know if this step was really needed. It was clear the impacted ants were both nanitics, they were the oldest and smallest of the colony. Looking back I think they were just getting old and became susceptible. There were probably still eggs or smaller mites still in that nest, but they never took hold. (The mites came from a house spider that I fed them. Since then I've been strict about freezing food that isn't grown as a feeder.)
So in short I'd suggest removing the ants with mites if you can and then thinking about if maybe conditions are too damp.
I can't really find them in your photo... could you crop it to show where they are?

I wasn’t looking for a species name or worried. I just was kind of curious.


Also, I am afraid this is not linked to high humidity, but maybe parasitic mites are?. I rarely water their nest, and it is quite dry. When I usually have a water feeder in the outworld and don’t water their nest, but if their brood count gets Higher I have another nest for them. It’s only on one-three of the ants, so I probably won’t bother taking them off. I can barely open the lid!

Also, with them, there is no “trash pile”. There is a “landfill”. They bury trash after their poop makes it moist(sand).

I am considering introducing some wild mites that are large, red and sit on the workers legs to a small worker group. I am curious to know if these are harmful, as every Floridanus colony I find has them all over, even on alates.

Edited by FloridaAnts, July 31 2022 - 12:53 PM.