7 replies to this topic

[futurebird]

Camponotus (carpenter) ants must be invasive in some context, but they aren't on any of the big lists. Why is the most ubiquitous genera of ants so rarely invasive?

Invasive ant species tend to be successful human house pests. Species that are smaller in size, fast growing, glossy, with multiple queens & budding colonies.

Could it be that carpenter ants are larger, w/ slow growing colonies?

Maybe (almost) every region already has a local carpenter ant so it's not easy to take over the niche?

[Manitobant]

There are a few reasons i can think of off the top of my head:

1: camponotus are generally slow growers and take many years to reach a size where they can rear alates, which greatly limits their dispersion capabilities.

2: the vast majority of camponotus species are strictly monogynous or pleometrotic at best with very few being truly polygynous, much less capable of inbreeding like you see in a lot of invasives.

3: camponotus colonies tend to be a bit picky in their nest preferences, with most only nesting in a specific type of habitat/material. Most invasive ants will nest literally anywhere they can find and are able to relocate their colonies on a whim, something camponotus cannoy really do.

[JesseTheAntKid]

There is Camponotus planatus, although it's small for a carpenter ant. Maybe it's because of their size?

[PurdueEntomology]

In myrmecological/ecological/invasive insect studies there is what is known as 'invasive ant syndrome'. Invasive ants share many ecological and life-history traits. Together, these traits are often referred to as the ‘‘invasive syndrome’’.  All of these species form large polygynous colonies, covering extensive territories, and they have very generalist diet, nesting and habitat requirements and foraging strategies.  It is likely that these invasive ant species will compete for the same resources and displace one another, unlike dominant ants in native communities, which often differ from subordinates in their diet preferences and/or foraging strategies. In addition, in native communities interspecific trade-offs, for example in the ability to discover and to defend resources, promote species co-existence. Invasive species, however, are generally thought to avoid these trade-offs by being simultaneously very fast at discovering resources and able to dominate them.  Generally, invasive species have exceptional phenotypic plasticity meaning, when confronted with novel ecological contexts that are able to successfully establish themselves and particularly displace endemic species with regard  resource acquisition.

[gcsnelling]

To add to what Purdue said, additionally invasive ants quite frequently get their initial foothold in habitats which have been disturbed by man in some way. Once the native species equilibrium is disturbed the invasives get a real leg up due to the resulting reduced competition. For this reason I refer to these species as disturbed habitat specialists.

[AntidepressAnt]

Camponotus is the most ubiquitous genus of ant? I'm pretty sure I've read somewhere that Pheidole has the most species, and I think they also explore more niches, and some important invasive species belong to it, like P. megacephala and P. obscurithorax.

[ANTdrew]

Camponotus is the most ubiquitous genus of ant? I'm pretty sure I've read somewhere that Pheidole has the most species, and I think they also explore more niches, and some important invasive species belong to it, like P. megacephala and P. obscurithorax.

Camponotus are more widely distributed than Pheidole. Pheidole do not range as far north, for example. Pheidole may be more diverse, but Camponotus are more ubiquitous.

[AntidepressAnt]

Oh, I get it now.