I've been using their "stain& odor remover"(it's at Trader Joe's) on
Argentine ant colonies, as I find them while didgging around outside. They
don't like it at all. I used it diluted at 8 ounces per gallon and also
straight. Both ways work, tho after I used it full strength I wet down the
area so it would soak in some more. It also appears to help out w/ some of
my soils that are hard to "wet" either due to saline conditions, excess
carbon, etc.
It's also a great purge for the compost pile as that's a favorite hiding
place for them.
bille
san diego,ca
Good question. They kill/drive out native ants- which are mostly
beneficial. They also 'farm' aphids and scale on citrus /other plants for
the " honeydew", which they feed on.
They have many more queens than other ants and don't fight amongst
colonies-it's all one "supercolony" up and down the coast of CA.
bille
............................................
http://www.insecta-inspecta.com/ants/argentine/
"Argentine ants have made quite an impact on California today. The ants have
monopolizes over other ants because of their social rules. They drive out or
kill the native ants of a newly invaded territory. They also steal seeds
from their beds and gnaw ripening fruit. These ants can drive poultry from
their nests and kill newly hatched chicks. They even disrupt beehives.
Horned lizards were once abundant in southern California. The Argentine ant
moved in and conquered native ant nests. Since horned lizards will only eat
ants native to California, the horned lizards are dying out due to
starvation. This single event reminds us of the delicate balance of our
environment and cautions us to be mindful of introducing new species to our
environment"
................................................
http://www.lalc.k12.ca.us/uclasp/urban_science/urban_bestiary/ant.htm
" Most ants have only one queen in their colony. Argentine ants have a lot
of queens, as many as eight for every 1,000 workers. Only queens lay eggs.
Since the Argentine ant has more queens, they can raise more babies. These
ants raise so many babies that it is almost impossible to kill all of them.
Argentine ants will also fight other ants. They can make a special weapon
called iridomyr-mecin. They smear this chemical on their enemies to kill
them or make them run away.
Most ants of the same species will set up their own territory, or
sub-colony, and will fight each other over it. Argentine ants do not fight
each other over territory. They will allow each other to pass freely across
all their areas. Therefore, Argentine ants are called polydomous. Even the
queens can move around into the other areas. Argentine ants usually nest
outside human habitats. Sometimes, they will set up a colony on the inside,
often in the soil of a potted plant.
Because of the social rules of the Argentine ant, they have a monopoly over
all the other ants. When they move into new territory they drive out or kill
all of the native ants. The Argentine ant first arrived in the United States
sometime before 1891. Scientists who study insects, entomologists, watched
these ants travel to California in 1905."
..............................................................
http://216.239.53.104/search?q=cache:1f_ITUJK8uUJ:www-biology.ucsd.edu/news/
article_051500.html+argentine+ants&hl=en
"Biologists at the University of California, San Diego have discovered that
the proliferation in California of the introduced Argentine ant, a major
pest that has invaded homes and displaced native species of ants in much of
the coastal regions of the state, is due to the lack of genetic diversity
among individuals up and down the coast.
In paper published in the May 16 issue of the Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences, the scientists conclude that this reduced genetic
variation has essentially allowed a giant "supercolony" of closely related
ants to grow unchecked from San Diego to Ukiah, 100 miles north of San
Francisco. In Argentina, by contrast, fighting among the more genetically
dissimilar, territorial ants has managed to keep these insects in check and
in smaller, much more sharply defined colonies than those in California.
"When we did our field work in Argentina, it was surprisingly difficult to
find Argentine ants, compared to our experience in California," says Ted J.
Case, a professor of biology at UCSD who headed the research team. "They are
a relatively inconspicuous feature, both in the urban and in the natural
environment."
Not so in California, particularly in the southern part of the state, where
the ant is regarded as the number one pest extermination companies are
called upon to remove from people's homes. "If you live in urban San Diego
or Los Angeles, this is the ant that's in your house and is invading your
garden and office," says Neil D. Tsutsui, a graduate student and the first
author of the study."
Behalf Of JT Thompson
Sent: Thursday, June 10, 2004 2:22 PM
To: OGL@LSV.UKY.EDU
Subject: Re: Argentine ants hate www.ecos.com
What's wrong with Argentine ants?
What's wrong with Argentine ants?
