@futurebird while cycling this morning, I stopped on a bridge in a wooded area, and noticed these guys.
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There are a few species that live in the US in southwest mostly, those that live near me in NY state don't collect green leaves, these girls have a secret underground fungus farm and they need the leaves to make compost to grow the fungi they eat.
@futurebird This was just west of San Antonio TX, so southwest(ish) I guess. I've no idea where this fungus farm would have been, these were on the middle of a small concrete bridge crossing a river. Given the line of ants extending in both directions though, it must be massive.
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@futurebird This was just west of San Antonio TX, so southwest(ish) I guess. I've no idea where this fungus farm would have been, these were on the middle of a small concrete bridge crossing a river. Given the line of ants extending in both directions though, it must be massive.
Probably Acromyrmex I think.
Acromyrmex Leaf-cutter Ants (Genus Acromyrmex)
Acromyrmex is a genus of New World ants of the subfamily Myrmicinae. This genus is found in South America and parts of Central America and the Caribbean Islands, and contains 31 known species. Commonly known as 'leafcutter ants' they comprise one of the two genera of advanced attines within the tribe Attini, along with Atta. (Source: Wikipedia, '', http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acromyrmex, CC BY-SA 3.0 . Photo: (c) RAP, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by RAP)
iNaturalist (www.inaturalist.org)
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@jericevans Very cool to have taken the time to observe this.
@futurebird@CStamp you know, to be honest, not that long ago I probably wouldn't have. Following @futurebird though has been a trip, her passion for them is contagious.
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@CStamp you know, to be honest, not that long ago I probably wouldn't have. Following @futurebird though has been a trip, her passion for them is contagious.
@CStamp except fire ants, I still do not like fire ants.
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@CStamp except fire ants, I still do not like fire ants.
@jericevans @CStamp Fire ants don’t even like fire ants.
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@CStamp except fire ants, I still do not like fire ants.
@jericevans I used to raise eyebrows at folk who acted fearful around red ants because the red ants of my youth were harmless. Then fire ants moved into southern Ontario. They are aggressive & horrible. Their bites for me result in huge swelling & 10 days of pain. The US should be held responsible for the illegible immigrants from their country!
Climate change really sucks in many ways. I don't visit a local park anymore because of them & I wonder how they affect the critters. @futurebird -
@jericevans I used to raise eyebrows at folk who acted fearful around red ants because the red ants of my youth were harmless. Then fire ants moved into southern Ontario. They are aggressive & horrible. Their bites for me result in huge swelling & 10 days of pain. The US should be held responsible for the illegible immigrants from their country!
Climate change really sucks in many ways. I don't visit a local park anymore because of them & I wonder how they affect the critters. @futurebirdThere are probably things a park could do to reduce their numbers. They are not very successful in their native range. It's not like they are super ants. They just thrive on disturbed soil, human construction, basically all the things we do to make it easy for them.
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There are probably things a park could do to reduce their numbers. They are not very successful in their native range. It's not like they are super ants. They just thrive on disturbed soil, human construction, basically all the things we do to make it easy for them.
@futurebird @jericevans I think it may be too late here, especially since I've seen no signs of the city working to contain them.
The park I no longer visit has maintained paths, but the ants are not restricted to them. I was surprised to stop by a beaver pond, damp earth, away from the trails, and have my feet covered with the things. They are so aggressive.
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@futurebird @jericevans I think it may be too late here, especially since I've seen no signs of the city working to contain them.
The park I no longer visit has maintained paths, but the ants are not restricted to them. I was surprised to stop by a beaver pond, damp earth, away from the trails, and have my feet covered with the things. They are so aggressive.
They can't be contained. But, they can settle into something more like the niche they live in their home range. There they are not numerous. They are opportunistic, nesting near storm-damaged trees, forest margins, places recently touched by fire. They are the "first ants in" and they can't dig packed soil or deal with real competition.
The way we tend lawns, cut down trees, clear brush, and plow soil is a delight for these ants. Perennial native plants are their enemy.
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@futurebird @jericevans I think it may be too late here, especially since I've seen no signs of the city working to contain them.
The park I no longer visit has maintained paths, but the ants are not restricted to them. I was surprised to stop by a beaver pond, damp earth, away from the trails, and have my feet covered with the things. They are so aggressive.
@CStamp I've never been stung just once. Once the first sting hits, there's always been 5-7 more (minimum) before I could get free of them. ðŸ«
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@futurebird @jericevans I think it may be too late here, especially since I've seen no signs of the city working to contain them.
The park I no longer visit has maintained paths, but the ants are not restricted to them. I was surprised to stop by a beaver pond, damp earth, away from the trails, and have my feet covered with the things. They are so aggressive.
Basically if they have taken over the park there is something they are doing to make that park a fire ant playground. When they were driving people crazy at my brother's college in FL it was because they were aerating the lawns to try to make the crabgrass look less like crabgrass and more like a Scottish fell trimmed by sheep. Something that makes no damn sense in a drained FL swamp.
When they embraced the local plants in landscaping the fire ants receded.
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@CStamp I've never been stung just once. Once the first sting hits, there's always been 5-7 more (minimum) before I could get free of them. ðŸ«
They are good at deterring large vertebrates from their prize: heaps of disturbed soil in direct sun. It's so precious to them I guess.
Sucks that we are large vertebrates and that someone has made such lovely piles of soil for them.
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Basically if they have taken over the park there is something they are doing to make that park a fire ant playground. When they were driving people crazy at my brother's college in FL it was because they were aerating the lawns to try to make the crabgrass look less like crabgrass and more like a Scottish fell trimmed by sheep. Something that makes no damn sense in a drained FL swamp.
When they embraced the local plants in landscaping the fire ants receded.
@futurebird @jericevans The park is mostly untouched. There are trails, then the rest is wild grasses, meadow, copses of trees & shrubs, a pond & culvert & drainage ditches, beaver dams & waterway. It's been designated a bird sanctuary, and while they have bird boxes for some species, it mostly wends around the top of a bluffs, and is a really important site during migration. I used to cut through wild areas but those are no safer than the trails. Here's the beaver dam:
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@futurebird @jericevans The park is mostly untouched. There are trails, then the rest is wild grasses, meadow, copses of trees & shrubs, a pond & culvert & drainage ditches, beaver dams & waterway. It's been designated a bird sanctuary, and while they have bird boxes for some species, it mostly wends around the top of a bluffs, and is a really important site during migration. I used to cut through wild areas but those are no safer than the trails. Here's the beaver dam:
@futurebird Last time I was there, the ants were swarming my feet on that landing page when I stood in place. I though it would be too wet for them. @jericevans
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@futurebird Last time I was there, the ants were swarming my feet on that landing page when I stood in place. I though it would be too wet for them. @jericevans
OK that is odd. Although, they are well equipped to survive flooding. (If it's the ants I think they can raft on water) Is it this species:
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OK that is odd. Although, they are well equipped to survive flooding. (If it's the ants I think they can raft on water) Is it this species:
@futurebird European Fire Ant (Myrmica rubra):
European Fire Ant – Invasive Species Centre
European Fire Ant (Myrmica rubra) French common name: fourmi rouge Photo: E. Groden, Univeristy of Maine Photo: Gary Alpert, Bugwood.org Order: Hymenoptera Family: Formicidae Genus: Myrmica Species: Rubra Did you know? European fire ant queens can live up to […]
Invasive Species Centre (www.invasivespeciescentre.ca)
What are European Fire Ants and how to get rid of them - Toronto | Globalnews.ca
The European Fire Ant has colonized the area behind one Newmarket family's home. So what are European Fire Ants and how do you get rid of them.
Global News (globalnews.ca)
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@futurebird European Fire Ant (Myrmica rubra):
European Fire Ant – Invasive Species Centre
European Fire Ant (Myrmica rubra) French common name: fourmi rouge Photo: E. Groden, Univeristy of Maine Photo: Gary Alpert, Bugwood.org Order: Hymenoptera Family: Formicidae Genus: Myrmica Species: Rubra Did you know? European fire ant queens can live up to […]
Invasive Species Centre (www.invasivespeciescentre.ca)
What are European Fire Ants and how to get rid of them - Toronto | Globalnews.ca
The European Fire Ant has colonized the area behind one Newmarket family's home. So what are European Fire Ants and how do you get rid of them.
Global News (globalnews.ca)
Oh! Myrmica rubra. They can overwinter. But to be fair they aren't as annoying as Solenopsis. I'll need to read up more about them. "fire ants" can mean a few very different species.
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Oh! Myrmica rubra. They can overwinter. But to be fair they aren't as annoying as Solenopsis. I'll need to read up more about them. "fire ants" can mean a few very different species.
@futurebird @jericevans Yikes. Annoying isn't the word. Aggressive with extremely painful bites, and if the other species is worse, just extra yikes.
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@futurebird @jericevans Yikes. Annoying isn't the word. Aggressive with extremely painful bites, and if the other species is worse, just extra yikes.
I have not be bitten by Myrmica rubra. But my understanding is they aren't known for stinging? Lots of keepers in Europe have them as pets.
You know if you see those ants again catch a few in a film canister and try to get a really good photo of them. They do sting but are supposed to be timid and the sting isn't "significant" but this could be wrong... or it's not Myrmica rubra.
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They can't be contained. But, they can settle into something more like the niche they live in their home range. There they are not numerous. They are opportunistic, nesting near storm-damaged trees, forest margins, places recently touched by fire. They are the "first ants in" and they can't dig packed soil or deal with real competition.
The way we tend lawns, cut down trees, clear brush, and plow soil is a delight for these ants. Perennial native plants are their enemy.
@futurebird @CStamp @jericevans
And this applies to Solenopsis invicta? I have them. I'm also in permaculture school and am working on a school project to design for my land. If perennial native vegetation works against then, that would be awesome. I don't really want to use pesticides.
