8 replies to this topic

[NelsontheLittle]

Hello, I have 5 Lasius niger queens with around ten workers. I don't want five Lasius niger colonies though, and I think about releasing them. But I've read some posts where people said they could carry diseases. But what about ant colonies that get food from peoples houses? Can't they get sick too? I have a hard time to understand this, so could someone please explain what the dangers are? And the pros and cons? Please don't let this evolve into a heated discussion, I just really want to have it all clear.

[ANTdrew]

Here is just my opinion, but I think the worry about captive ant colonies passing diseases is unfounded. Ants are exceedingly clean animals that even make their own antibiotics from metapleural glands. If you have fed them a clean diet of feeder insects, and it is a native species, I think the risk of disease transfer is next to zero. The only exception would be if you keep a bunch of exotic species in close proximity. This is exactly how the valid disease concerns arise in the aquarium and herptile hobbies. I, for one, keep only native ants and feed them carefully sterilized foods.

Edited by ANTdrew, September 24 2023 - 2:06 AM.

[Manitobant]

To add onto what drew said i think it should only be released if it was actually caught in your area. If its a native species but was caught in a neighboring country/state/province the risk of disease transmission is higher.

[Daniel]

I tend to think of it in terms of the risk v reward... Regardless of how low the risk of disease introduction/spread is (it only takes one oops), what is the reward? It feels good? I don't think it's worth it.

[NelsontheLittle]

. The only exception would be if you keep a bunch of exotic species on close proximity. This is exactly how the valid disease concerns arise in the aquarium and herptile hobbies.

 

I haven't feed them yet, so that shouldn't be an issue. I do have an exotic messor colony next to them though, but should I be worried about that when I never even have opened their test tubes?

[ANTdrew]

I think Daniel is right here. With a super common species like L. niger, it may not be worth the risk. You don’t need to feel bad euthanizing some, especially since most would not have made it in the wild anyway, nor are they necessarily likely to survive once released. It may, in fact, be very unlikely that released colonies usually survive long term after having everything handed to them on a silver platter, so to speak.

[mazmurlo]

i've actually heard many success stories when it comes to releasing large colonies. despite only being captive kept they readily adapt to their new environment and thrive

[NelsontheLittle]

Thank you for the advice, I’ll just put them in the freezer then.

[DinoH]

I was thinking on releasing a Aphaenogaster colony to the wild because I got it from the wild. But I kept it in a naturalistic setup with some non native animals as tropical springtails and mealworms.