52 replies to this topic

[AntPhycho]

Thanks for the information, also they are native now there are to many and people keeping a colony isn't gonna effect anything, if anything they will evolve our native ants and make them stronger.

I don't understand what your problem is, I am keeping one colony of solenopsis invicta, the owner of this forum keeps them himself, and many others. Also I am never releasing my colony, they are never going into the wild, they will die in my custody. If anything I depleted one colony from being in nature. Also don't assume what your not sure about, like "I am new at the hobby" Mr. Expert.

Wait a minute... Something doesn't add up.

What doesn't add up? In my first post I meant that there are so many solenopsis invicta in America now, they might as well be native. There is no way anyone can get rid of all those ants.

Well... Saying that they are native, and meaning that they are just good at being invasive are two entirely separate statements.. Also, you stating that they would "evolve" the native species and "make them stronger" is a very uneducated statement. Then calling him "Mr. Expert" as if he was so wrong to assume you were new from your blatant disregard for any scientific backing to your statement (albeit he did come off harshly) was very ironic due to your past statement and his correction of it.

I understand what you mean, and I am glad you understand why I felt like he was being a little rude, the native statement I said what wrong, I admit it was, when I was typing the first post I honestly had no idea what I was saying .

[StopSpazzing]

...when I was typing the first post I honestly had no idea what I was saying .

I hear that happens a lot.. to people who smoke a bunch of weed... 

Edited by StopSpazzing, September 12 2017 - 3:50 PM.

[AntPhycho]

...when I was typing the first post I honestly had no idea what I was saying .

I hear that happens a lot.. to people who smoke a bunch of weed...

Hahaha, I don't smoke weed, but lol it does happen to me a lot.

[dspdrew]

 

 

I don't understand what your problem is, I am keeping one colony of solenopsis invicta, the owner of this forum keeps them himself, and many others.

 

I don't keep these. I find them boring. Apparently it's also illegal in California.

 

You find fire ants boring!

 

 

When you see their queens almost every day through the entire anting season, yeah.

[STRAYA_ants]

As someone new to antkeeping, I'm concerned there are those who care for non-native species. 87% of ant species in my country don't exist anywhere else and invasive species are a threat to their survival. This is why I prefer keeping native species, as encouraged by many prominent figures in the hobby. To myself personally, ethical and responsible antkeeping is an important matter.

[FeedTheAnts]

As someone new to antkeeping, I'm concerned there are those who care for non-native species. 87% of ant species in my country don't exist anywhere else and invasive species are a threat to their survival. This is why I prefer keeping native species, as encouraged by many prominent figures in the hobby. To myself personally, ethical and responsible antkeeping is an important matter.

I love what you said. Where do you live btw? 

[STRAYA_ants]

I love what you said. Where do you live btw?

Australia. We already have yellow crazy ants and RIFA investation here. I believe Argentine ants are to blame too.

Also, I'm interested in this topic as I want to control my colony size as well. Regulating food intake seems then most logical, practical, and humane.

[anttics]

you can always introduce predators. I do not know of any that could survive inside a formicarium of fire ants. but I could be wrong. search for its predators

[BugFinder]

 

 

 

I do recommend not keeping Solenopsis invicta and instead killing them off, especially if you live in the U.S., we don't need people keeping invasive ants.

It's not like he's necessarily going to release them.

That is my exact point lol.

 

Serafine could not have said it any better. 

My problem is the fact that people are keeping highly invasive, highly pest-like, extremely hardy ants (like Solenopsis invicta as well as Linepithema humile) that can harm the ecosystem around them. They demolish all other ant species around them. 

Accidents are always prone to happening, you never know if they will escape or not, no matter how hard you try.  

 

 

 

Apologies for hijacking this topic, I get carried away in discussions like these.  If you wish to continue our debate, feel free to PM me.  

 

If you catch a queen in your local area, even if it is an invasive exotic, what is the harm?   It's already there.  It's much different than buying one from out of the area and trying to keep that.

 

The next time I see a L. Humile colony on the march (I see this every summer, late in the summer) I'm going to grab a few of the queens and bring them home.  What's the harm in that?

[RushmoreAnts]

It’s not like they’re going to harm the environment in a formicarium, anyway.

[Serafine]

The next time I see a L. Humile colony on the march (I see this every summer, late in the summer) I'm going to grab a few of the queens and bring them home. What's the harm in that?

Actually, unlike Solenopsis invicta which usually live under your lawn and do the occasional house raid at best Argentines are known to be pest house ants can easily establish themselves as permanent residents of your home. They will also wipe out all of your other ants given the chance and they apparently have a habit of attracting wild Argentines due to their pheromones (because they're essentially the same colony).

 

 

Regading fire ant quarantine efforts, it's not just about killing them off (which is impossible anyway), it's very much about limiting their ability to spread and slowing down their advance so native species may have a chance to adapt. Predators for example usually do not eat prey they don't know and it can take them several decades to realize this new species of bird, snake, beetle, snail, shrimp, ant, etc. is actually fairly tasty.

Invasive ants, Solenopsis invicta in particular, deal massive financial damage to agriculture each year, I'm fairly sure the last thing farmers and governments want is someone nurturing them and giving them the best possible start into life when they accidentally escape.

 

It's also worth noting that social insects like ants can have an unbelievably profound impact on ecosystems we are just beginning to understand - if for example birds and small mammals get pushed out of a forest by aggressive stinging fire ants raiding their nests (this is actually happening, especially small rodents avoid areas with high densities of aggressive stinging ants like Solenopsis invicta, Wasmannia auropunctata and Myrmica rubra) the ecosystem looses its most important seed dispersers (and probably also a singificant chunk of its polinators) and as a result over the course of decades and centuries the wood ecosystem collapses and gets replaced by a grassland ecosystem which is likely to be replaced by a barren wasteland due to increased soil erosion. Barely any of the native species populations in the area will survive. And this change is irreversible, at least on a timescale that doesn't span some millenia.

Edited by Serafine, April 27 2020 - 6:30 AM.

[AntsExodus]

I live in Georiga. The one of the most infested states with Solenopsis Invicta. You guys are acting like you guys know how it feels to walk every step with fear because there could be a stinging fire ant right below you and your allergic to it. Argentine ants are not that bad here and actually you will be doing something good by keeping them cause you are giving the fire ants a threat cause there is literally nothing that can fight Solenopsis Invicta here. Only other invasives like Cyphomyrmex Rimosus and a few others like Odontomachus Haematodus can cope with them. I don't want to sound like a poopy head but I have to if it makes or at least helps you understand the RIFA spread. You guys do not understand the luxury of not having fire ants in your area. Not only are they bad to the native ecosystem but to YOU. We have to spray pesticide everywhere here and every time I do an anting hunt I am scared out of my balls cause I might flip open a rock with them inside. What I'm trying to say is don't keep them. Kill a queen or an alate if you see one. Don't catch it. Even if you think oh its already spread so who cares about keeping them its too late, yeah its too late, but you don't have to make it worse then it already is. Even something so little might change something, might turn something around. I understand why people want to keep them. Their super fast growing, have multiple major sizes, aggressive, and can have large numbers! But that is also exactly the reason why native ants are dying. So if you can do something to stop their growth, do it. If you still have reasons why it doesn't matter and you should keep them. I have no say. Its your choice, but I just wanted to point that out.

[ANTdrew]

Nothing good comes when these three year old threads are brought up out of the depths again.