47 replies to this topic

[Kit]

 

 

Kit:

Ants do not fly during hurricanes.

 

(PS - AntDude is not your enemy, though you seem to have set yourself up as his. How about just give it a rest?!) 

James....the ever narcissistic academic. Great to hear more of your crap. What did you spend 3 years at Uni doing some half baked Science degree and now think somehow I have to listen to this. Not intimidated or impressed.

 

@James C. Trager:    rofl

Love how you singled out me as a racist, completely ignoring Servercheckers earlier extremely racist rant. In fact now I think about what Serverchecker said it is extremely offensive, he is basically stating he takes pride in speaking English better than a native speaker....and what other motive would he have for thinking like that than being racist himself, and so we finally see what antdudes little experiment was all about. You can't even see your own subconscious racism staring back at you....or perhaps if I had Penang, Malaysia as my location I would get a pass.

 

James and Mercuita you lose all credibility in my eyes. Play your little mod games on here, what do I care.  

 

Oh and Severhecker do you honestly believe I would ever care about how I command English to allow it to be a definitive trait of my own self worth? You sound incredibly pathetic right now; like seriously get a life. Hows that for zero tolerance moron.

 

People like antdude should be put down. I'm glad he has damaged the hobby beyond repair, and you can't even see it. Such delusion doesn't deserve any sympathy. I guess I will say goodbye the only way ants know how....

 

1. A "Native English Speaker" is not a race, thus negating it being "racist". "Asian" is a race. Making generalizations about a person based on their ethnicity, or race like "Chinese" or "Malaysian" or "Asian" or "Black" is inherently racist. Making generalizations about "native English speaker" not racist because anyone can be a native English speaker despite apparent heritage or physical attributes or even geographic location. I am a native English speaker. I literally speak only English. I'm born and raised in Canada. I'm also Asian. Weird how that works eh?

 

2. You've blatantly been racist and yet you haven't seen how you've been racist makes me wonder if you actually know what racism is, sounds like, and looks like.

 

3. You mention before that countries like "Japan", etc were racist. Was anyone denying that people in other countries can't be racist? No. But here in North America, such generalizations and ignorance is not tolerated. Sorry for being so PC. If you are upset with how PC we are I'm sure there are many Australian ant forums that will gladly welcome you and your behaviour with open arms.

 

1. "Native Speaker" always has racist connotations to mean 'White Anglo Saxon', or I am sorry we are not even allowed to be called white because someone might get offended....what was that word again...oh yeah Caucasian. You know this, your cherry picking, grabbing for something to pin me down with, but you can't find anything cause you know deep down I am right. Sad. If you want weird, weird is that I can't meet an ethnic minority who is not racially centric or who can't talk without bringing their race into everything. It's like your all reading from the same script. 

 

2. And you have been blatantly racist also. Your nitpicking now.

 

3. If that is not racist then I don't know what is.

[Barristan]

What I don't understand about US law is that you may ship workers across state borders but not queens. Can't a workers without a queen not be harmful to plants?

[TheAnswerIsTheLogic]

cmon this will not be native ant soo she can"t get more colonys soo ?????? you will have ONLY 1 colony IN You formicarium and garden

[Kit]

Funny. The 'Native English Speaker' argument has to be the most racist justification to enact racism on a forum I have ever heard in my entire life. Classic. Isn't it amazing how a generally predominately white population of English speaking peoples are expected to believe that referring to 'Native English Speaker' isn't a racist thing?

 

Anyone who doesn't think that is racist is an idiot of very low intelligence. It's common sense. 

 

If I enacted a rule on a forum aimed at "Native Chinese Speakers" I bet that would be considered racist, despite there being pockets of people of non-Chinese ethnicity existing in China yet speaking Chinese. How is this any different. Sick and tired of these warped double standards. 

[Mercutia]

Well yes that would be racist because there is no "Chinese" language. The most common language spoken in China is Mandarin. So yes, saying someone is a "Native Chinese Speaker" is completely ignorant. They don't speak Chinese. They speak Mandarin. Or Cantonese. Or Shanghainese. But mostly Mandarin.

 

Thus a prime example of my point that you are being racist and ignorant.

[Kit]

It was an example. You know what I was meaning. Always an exception as to why a white person is a racist and you as a minority is not.

 

Your just rude and insulting, make predictable generalized points that never address antdudes behavior. 

 

Must be so fun to just play the race card all the time. I can see it's how you get your kicks. I read you used the same "Native English Speaker" justification on the forum also, such a weak argument that would get laughed at in the real wold. 

 

What you said is actually incredibly racist, I can't believe you actually think like that. At least I have a wider argument and evidence to support my claims, your just being rude for the sake of being rude and racist because you know you will get away with it every time in our society; because our society is geared towards giving you the benefit of the doubt over a white.

 

How you play games and start racist forums is incredible. Just incredible. 

[Crystals]

Kit, I find it odd.

You said you didn't like antdude and refused to join his forum (Fine, that's your choice).

You said that there were too many mods on this forum to remain here (Your choice, yet you are still here).

What I don't understand, is why you are deliberately insulting those who have been here far longer than you, know much more about ants, and most likely have the answers you are seeking.  Were the insults deliberate?

If the insults directed at other members continue, you will soon outlive your welcome.

 

Any company I have ever worked with would not tolerate comments like these from any employee.

 

In case you are not aware, currently you are the elephant in the room.  There have been numerous requests to have you banned due to your habits of insulting and bad mouthing so many different people.

 

 

But this just derails the thread.

In my opinion, I can see where people want ants that they can't get.  But I would not try to get them.  There are usually lots of native ants out there - the states has far more ant species than I do in Canada and I have 94 species somewhere around me.

I am not sure who would be coming around with fines, but I know from my time in the aquarium hobby, there are enforcers who will track shipments and turn up at your door to fine/and/or collect the critters (in the US, imported cana snails I think were the big ones that were controlled, despite the fact that there was a native species.  I forget which state this in).

 

Anyone who has ever taken any psychology course will tell you that humans naturally want to push their boundaries.  Perhaps it is mind over matter? 

I will take my local, native, common Formica pests anyday over an imported species (although I do have dreams about certain species, but they will have to remain dreams...).

[drtrmiller]

 
People like antdude should be put down.

If calling for the euthanasia of another person with whom one disagrees doesn't get one banned from this forum, I don't know what will.

Edited by drtrmiller, September 16 2015 - 11:28 AM.

[dspdrew]

 

Kit:

Ants do not fly during hurricanes.

 

(PS - AntDude is not your enemy, though you seem to have set yourself up as his. How about just give it a rest?!) 

James....the ever narcissistic academic. Great to hear more of your crap. What did you spend 3 years at Uni doing some half baked Science degree and now think somehow I have to listen to this. Not intimidated or impressed.

 

Wow, really? Why would you come here and start dissing everybody in the hobby just because one or two got into an argument with you, especially one of the only well respected myrmecologists (of 30-plus years I might add) who actually spends his time on these forums? You're going to be a very lonely person in this hobby if you continue this.

 

For the record, while some people here may be fairly politically correct, I personally am not one of those, but I recognize that there is at least some level of political correctness that the vast majority of people would like to see on a forum of this nature, therefor we don't allow racist remarks here.

 

Please do not post anything else on this thread unless it pertains to the original topic, or I am going to lock it.

[dspdrew]

 

 
People like antdude should be put down.

Threat of harm? Yes. Should not be tolerated here. I say ban and delete all traces of existence.

 

 

Sorry, I've been busy today. Thanks for pointing that out.

[William. T]

So, let's get back on topic. Ants are still under the law. However, nothing is on about finding an ant colony in your flowers or something. It's perfectly fine to take advantage of the Camponotus "brown black" you found in those African imports. It's not illegal. However, just make sure to freeze the colony if you don't want it anymore.

[dspdrew]

What I don't understand about US law is that you may ship workers across state borders but not queens. Can't a workers without a queen not be harmful to plants?

 

Actually, go back and read what drtrmiller said.

 

I did not misunderstand.  Again, the law does not specify in any way whether the plant pest can reproduce—only that it is an organism that can cause direct or indirect damage to plants or plant products.

 

Worker ants that can harm plants are covered under the law, since they are an organism—this is why USDA issues permits to businesses that sell Pogonomyrmex workers for use in children's ant farms.

[drtrmiller]

So, let's get back on topic. Ants are still under the law. However, nothing is on about finding an ant colony in your flowers or something. It's perfectly fine to take advantage of the Camponotus "brown black" you found in those African imports. It's not illegal. However, just make sure to freeze the colony if you don't want it anymore.

 

Actually, yes, the scenario you describe would be a direct violation of several provisions of the Lacey Act.

 

Agricultural imports are inspected by the USDA, and citizens who discover a plant pest that was inadvertently overlooked in imported flora, and choose to acquire the organism for observation rather than reporting it, are in fact breaking the letter of the law.  Wouldn't it be a glaring oversight in stemming the spread of potentially invasive plant pests, if people could just claim that they found the pest in an imported plant, and this claim offered immunity from prosecution?

 

No, ignorance of the law is (almost) never a legal defense.

Edited by drtrmiller, September 16 2015 - 12:56 PM.

[William. T]

 

So, let's get back on topic. Ants are still under the law. However, nothing is on about finding an ant colony in your flowers or something. It's perfectly fine to take advantage of the Camponotus "brown black" you found in those African imports. It's not illegal. However, just make sure to freeze the colony if you don't want it anymore.

 

Actually, yes, the scenario you describe would be a direct violation of several provisions of the Lacey Act.

 

Agricultural imports are inspected by the USDA, and citizens who discover a plant pest that was inadvertently overlooked in imported flora, and choose to acquire the organism for observation rather than reporting it, are in fact breaking the letter of the law.  Wouldn't it be a glaring oversight in stemming the spread of potentially invasive plant pests, if people could just claim that they found the pest in an imported plant, and this claim offered immunity from prosecution?

 

No, ignorance of the law is (almost) never a legal defense.

 

Didn't know about that. My mistake. Thank you,

[Trailandstreet]

Isn't Atta texana already at home in the US? I thought it would be in nearly every southern state.

[Pulliamj]

that's what I was wondering too. They are listed as being in Texas. So if I caught them in Texas I would think I could also keep them in Texas.

Edited by Pulliamj, September 17 2015 - 6:56 AM.

[Mercutia]

They have been mentioned being found in Louisiana so I think their distribution must extend at least to surrounding states as well.

[James C. Trager]

Atta texana is only in western Louisiana, eastern Texas and northeastern Mexico, according to over 100 years of published records and specimens in museums. 

[Mercutia]

Lol, I should rephrase that. Some* surrounding states.

[laowai]

This article gives an interesting perspective on keeping leaf cutter ants: http://blogs.sandieg...eafcutter-ants/

 

Apparently Atta colonies will die out once their Queen dies, as the article states. So logic would dictate you could quite safely keep any Atta as long as you ensured the Queen was maintained in an escape proof enclosure as institutions such as the San Diego Zoo already do. 

 

That article also mentions the USDA is already aware of this fact; possibly something that may make them more amenable to allowing hobbyists to keep this ant.

 

Maybe I am missing something, why do US zoos prefer to keep 'exotic' Atta such as Atta cephalotes when they already have Atta texana as a native?

 

If someone was able to manufacture a risk free Queen excluder that allowed the Queen to exist safely without worry of her being killed by workers trying to move her, then perhaps Atta could be safely kept anywhere?