When my cousin from down south said "oh yeah I seen them army ants all the time" I just assumed that he didn't know what he was talking about. To me "army ants" are tropical exotic creatures that you don't see in your back yard if you live in a temperate zone. You need to catch a plane to see army ants... right?
Well I was totally wrong and my cousin was right. There are many species of army ant that live in North America. Most belong to the genus Neivamyrmex-- and they do all the army ant things: like make bivouacs, raid in huge groups, be blind, have males that look like little flying sausages (more like cocktail pickles than the hot-dog sized tropical males), they run around carrying their brood. But, there isn't much information on these species.
Are there any army ants that live in NY state? I know it's a bit much to ask... but if we can have fungus growers here... why not our own much smaller army ants living in the tiny temperate rainforests* of the Appalachian mountains?
I assume "keeping" army ants is just as annoying with these smaller species as it would be with their charismatic tropical cousins.
*There are many micro-regions in the mountains of the Eastern US that get just as much rain as any rainforest, so, much like OR you get what we call a "temperate rainforest" these areas are often famous for their obscene snowfalls. See Buffalo NY. Though the precipitation isn't just about snow-- it's also enough to sustain these remarkable islands of lush mossy green forest that I've only ever seen anything like way out west where the largest temperate rainforests are.
Edited by futurebird, May 28 2023 - 4:56 AM.
