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This species was first recorded in South Africa in 1901 in Stellenbosch, Western Cape Province (WCP),
The Argentine ant was found in six of the nine South African Provinces, and its extent of occurrence includes approximately half of the country’s land surface area. Discontinuities in the distribution of the Argentine ant across the country revealed that range expansion of the Argentine ant in South Africa is occurring predominantly via human-mediated jump dispersal, rather than naturally via nest diffusion. This study clearly demonstrated that the Argentine ant is well established across South Africa as well as inside protected areas. The Argentine ant invasion was influenced by the presence of human modified landscapes (i.e. buildings) both at low and high altitude, and this was associated with higher rates of native ant species displacement at these areas. Therefore, limiting the development of recreational areas, such as buildings and picnic sites inside protected areas will result in the lower rate of spread of the Argentine ant. This will in turn lower the extent of displacement of native ant species.
Originally posted by deltaalphanovember
It is incredible to think of ant mega colonies ... do they not have natural predators?
Pesticides haven’t stopped them. Trapping hasn’t worked, either. But now chemists and biologists at the University of California, Irvine, (UCI) think they may have found a natural way to finally check the spread of environmentally destructive Argentine ants in California and elsewhere in the United States: Spark a family feud.
Slight alterations in the “recognition” chemicals on the exoskeletons of these closely related pests, these scientists say, could transform “kissing cousins” into mortal enemies, triggering deadly in-fighting within their normally peaceful super colonies
Originally posted by dope001
reply to post by qwiksilva
I think it's bad, even a small colony can make large tunnels.
If a big colony makes a nest under a house, I think the house could collaps.
Originally posted by jjkenobi
The Orkin man is a natural predator. Or we could start a rent an anteater company. Maybe starve them for awhile, give them some steroids, and set them loose on the mega ant colonies.