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Post by entoman on Sept 21, 2011 12:37:37 GMT -8
It has come to my attention recently that the typical fire ant (Solenopsis invicta) nest design I used to see everywhere (more or less just large mounds of dirt with lots of little tunnel openings in them) is becoming less and less prevalent. It seems that, rather than constructing these very conspicuous mounds, they are opting for a more subtle nest design, consisting of linear chains of tunnels with small mounds occurring periodically above ground along its length. Can anyone confirm if this is actually an emerging trend, or if I am simply imagining it. The attached picture is of such a nest. Attachments:
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Post by bichos on Sept 21, 2011 15:32:24 GMT -8
I don't know fire ants or their nesting behaviour, but I wonder,
what advantage can be gained from an inconspicuous nest?
Are people destroying nests?
do they have a new predator or threat which has recently been introduced that visually detects the typical nest mounds?
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Post by starlightcriminal on Sept 22, 2011 5:22:32 GMT -8
Well I know that in South Florida this is not uncommon at all, actually. We get conspicuous nests when there is building material around. But the layer of "soil" which is mostly sand here is so shallow that the nests rarely mound into anything significant as the do from the Zephyr Hills area north along the ridge of Florida that is higher elevation, basically up the center of the peninsula. Occasionally I have seen mounded hills but it is not the normal mode for the extreme coastal and southern parts of Florida, like West Palm, just by virtue of having little to no building material and only a few inches of soil before the limestone bed, as little as one or two (~50mm). Limits planting options as well, the soil is so basic that many otherwise highly desirable tropicals won't survive without rigorous and committed soil amendments to keep the pH down. Most fire ant nest I have seen (and I've lived in the state my entire life) in these regions amount to a tiny hole in the ground with a small ring of pelleted sand around the rim. I find them even more insidious this way because you don't notice you are standing on one until there are ants in your pants!
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Post by entoman on Sept 22, 2011 18:15:15 GMT -8
I understand what you mean about the shallow soil, but these days I see these kind of nests even in areas where they used to build large mounds. Is the soil in these areas becoming more shallow or could this indicate a behavioral change on the part of the insect?
And in answer to your question Bichos, yes people are constantly attempting (to little avail) to destroy fire-ant colonies. They are an invasive species (both ecologically and in people's homes), have a nasty sting, and are very prolific. And the smaller mounds do make them more difficult to find.
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