Crazy Ants: Affecting Flora and Fauna
Thursday, January 8th, 2009Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife
The Raspberry crazy ant, which is a tramp ant, doesn’t build mounds.
Tramp ants nest under any object on the ground.
Colonies with millions of members mostly nest on the ground, not under it; this makes them annoying to man. Yet, Mike Quinn, an invertebrate, says they can be deadly to flora and fauna, too.
They feed on aphids that are also pests on plants. So, they can dry out the vegetation in an area. They can drive out other ants. Any ground nesting bird is potential prey. Any small mammal on the ground is potential prey., They can asphyxiate chickens. They can get into the nostrils of cattle. It’s such that when the ant is at its peak, from June to November, pets may not want to go outside. Kids don’t want to go outside. You know, we can calculate the economic damage that it may potentially bring, but the ecological damage could be incalculable.
If we are not cautious, we could inadvertently help to expand this exotic species’ range.
They’d be in nursery stock. Round hay bales. Any container that moves could potentially further spread the crazy ant.
You’ll find additional information about Rasberry Crazy Ants on our website, passporttotexas.org; while you’re there, we invite you to leave a comment about this or other shows on our blog.
That’s our show for today…for Texas Parks and Wildlife… I’m Cecilia Nasti.
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