Washington, March 31 (ANI): A new research has shown that the most common house ant species, built for living in some of the smallest spaces in a forest, prosper in urban areas.
The study revealed that odorous house ant colonies become larger and more complex as they move from forest to city and act somewhat like an invasive species.
The ants live about 50 to a colony with one queen in forest settings but explode into supercolonies with more than 6 million workers and 50,000 queens in urban areas.
“This is a native species that”s doing this. Native ants are not supposed to become invasive. We don”t know of any other native ants that are outcompeting other species of native ants like these,” Grzegorz Buczkowski, a Purdue University research assistant professor of entomology, said.
Odorous house ants live in hollow acorn shells in the forest. They”re called odorous because they have a coconut- or rum-like smell when crushed. They”re considered one of the most common house ants.
In semi-natural areas that are a cross of forest and urban areas, such as a park, Buczkowski said he observed colonies of about 500 workers with a single queen.
He said it”s possible that as the ants get closer to urban areas they have easier access to food, shelter and other resources.
“In the forest, they have to compete for food and nesting sites. In the cities, they don”t have that competition. People give them a place to nest, a place to eat,” Buczkowski said.
The study has been published in the early online version of the journal Biological Invasions. (ANI)
Expert backs cane toad eradication plan
A far north Queensland cane toad expert says a Federal Government plan designed to tackle the cane toad scourge is simple but has merit.
The $2 million draft plan has been released for public comment.
The plan will try to coordinate efforts across the nation to manage the effects of cane toads on the environment.
It identifies the native species most at risk from cane toads and also looks at the best ways to get rid of the species, including trapping.
Professor Ross Alford from James Cook University says the draft plan has merit.
“I think it’s a very sensible plan,” he said.
“It acknowledges the fact that we really at the moment don’t have any way to control the toads on a broad scale across the landscape.
“Developing a way to do it is going to be a long-term, expensive project and what we really need to do now is identify exactly what damage the toads cause.”
Professor Alford says he supports the findings that trapping cane toads is one of the most effective methods of controlling numbers.
“A trap is really the most effective way that we know of for controlling them on a local scale,” he said.
“If you’ve got a bit of habitat that you want to really protect from cane toads by removing as many as possible, it’s much more effective to put traps out, then go visit them everyday and clear them out.”
Cane toad experts have welcomed the draft plan to help wipe out the pest.