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A Warning to New AntKeepers Purchasing Pogonomyrmex occidentalis "colonies"


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109 replies to this topic

#101 Offline Mdrogun - Posted October 30 2019 - 5:54 PM

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I'm so glad we don't accept the rhetoric on Tetramorium immigrans being "naturalized" and "established" thus using that as a way to say that they're no longer harmful. I think it stems from people seeing them when they begin, and then not seeing the harm they've caused. I had one guy I talked to recently not even realize they weren't native.

 

Anyone who has been to a preserve where the species isn't found, or is found in more limited numbers, will be able to clearly see the amount of biodiversity the species crushes. They are a plague on the North American continent. I work to kill them where I can, as well.


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Currently Keeping:
Trachymyrmex septentrionalis

Pheidole pilifera

Forelius sp. (Monogynous, bicolored) "Midwestern Forelius"
Crematogaster cerasi

Pheidole bicarinata

Aphaenogaster rudis

Camponotus chromaiodes

Formica sp. (microgena species)

Nylanderia cf. arenivega


#102 Offline Manitobant - Posted October 30 2019 - 6:18 PM

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I think forelius pruinosus would be a good one to exempt. Its found in most states.
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#103 Offline Rin - Posted November 3 2019 - 3:07 PM

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I'm still on the fence about Tetramorium immigrans. As it has been naturalized. And it's not going anywhere, so might as enjoy it. I could make the same argument against rats . The biggest problem would be telling the difference between Tetramorium immigrans and the more unpleasant Tetramorium tsushimae which are more problematic towards ground nesting ants . Tetramorium immigrans is still being and whole Tetramorium Sp. Is still needs a lot of work, they form hybrids
Fairly easy and with having such a large geographic range in the U.S. Tetramorium immigrans has been kept for years now by many ant keepers,formally known as Tetramorium caespitum. So can see that there's a lot of confusion about what we refer to as "Tetramorium" among scientists and researchers. I don't know who will see this I'm not very good at this forum based communication. But in closing, sometimes it's good to just enjoy life. Because are no guarantees of anything and Mother Nature always wins.

#104 Offline TennesseeAnts - Posted November 3 2019 - 3:50 PM

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Being "naturalized" doesn't mean harmless.
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#105 Offline Kaelwizard - Posted November 6 2019 - 1:07 PM

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I know they can be harmful, and I don’t treat it as rhetoric, but in my neighborhood, some Tetramorium colonies disappeared and were replaced with Lasius and vice versa.

#106 Offline Otter - Posted June 23 2020 - 11:44 PM

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Boosting with pupae is a good way to increase a queen's chance of founding successfully as even a single worker makes an enormous difference in a colony's chances for survival. I am VERY sure that larger sellers like Uncle Milton will definitely adopt this practice just to reduce the amount of failing queens. And do I really have to remind you on the study about the genetic composition of Pogonomyrmex colonies which revealed that a good chunk of every wild colony's workers aren't actually their own but workers from other colonies that got lost and begged for acceptiance in another colony? Apparently Pogonomyrmex are particularly accepting when it comes to workers from other colonies.

 

The way I have experienced THA so far is that he's someone who really wants to bring the hobby forward, is very openly and pretty actively talking with actual and potential costumers and generally listens to critiques people brought forward. I'm fairly sure what he does is the best strategy to raise successful ant colonies.

 

And on a note, Formiculture complaining about THA's founding practices (which actually have been tested and are likely the best way of ensuring a queen's survival) is not just ludicrous, it's outright hypocritcal as it took Formiculture TWO YEARS to not ban Joseph Kim EVEN AFTER HE WAS CONFIRMED A SCAMMER AND ILLEGAL SELLER OF EXOTIC ANTS. Yes, he never got banned. He just left for greener (and even less regulated) pastures at some point after having a great learning experience on how to illegally sell ants on Formiculture and continued to damage the antkeeping hobby until he fiinally got blown out of the water by the USDA.

Joseph Kim was an illegal seller, but making blatantly false claims that he was a scammer to further your point is scummy. Please stick to the facts, and btw I did not "bully" anyone out of aak as you like to claim. Ask anyone who left who I supposedly "bullied" about why they left. 


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#107 Offline BroJack - Posted June 25 2020 - 7:34 AM

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I just spent quite awhile reading the entire thread and found it fascinating and educational (and a little off at points.) I am fairly new and inexperienced with raising and keeping ants but have been interested for awhile. I failed with my queens for the first two years and then had to wait another year to collect queens again. I have been pretty successful the past two years and am even selling as a GAN farmer (I read some of those threads as well and know that there is controversy there-I do guarantee that if the queen dies, I will replace her with a new one if I still have some-I only sell when they have several workers). My current species is fairly slow growing (C. pennsylvanicus) and so when the opportunity to get a faster growing species became available I jumped on it and bought a boosted colony from THA. I have nothing but good things to say about the experience - good documentation, great communication, and great support. My colony is doing very well and growing fast.

Some may question my location (Tucson, AZ) and ask why I purchased a species that can be easily found where I live. I am only in Tucson during the school year and am gone for the monsoon season. With the changes due to COVID, I am hoping to be back in Tucson this year for the nuptial flights of the Pogonomyrmex. I am hoping that the knowledge and experience gained with my colony from THA will help me take less that 4 years to be successful.

Side note: this might be my last year to get guaranteed C. pennsylvanicus queens. My "gold mine" collecting area just burned in the Bighorn fire in the Catalina mountains :(


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#108 Offline AntsDakota - Posted June 25 2020 - 7:38 AM

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Boosting with pupae is a good way to increase a queen's chance of founding successfully as even a single worker makes an enormous difference in a colony's chances for survival. I am VERY sure that larger sellers like Uncle Milton will definitely adopt this practice just to reduce the amount of failing queens. And do I really have to remind you on the study about the genetic composition of Pogonomyrmex colonies which revealed that a good chunk of every wild colony's workers aren't actually their own but workers from other colonies that got lost and begged for acceptiance in another colony? Apparently Pogonomyrmex are particularly accepting when it comes to workers from other colonies.
 
The way I have experienced THA so far is that he's someone who really wants to bring the hobby forward, is very openly and pretty actively talking with actual and potential costumers and generally listens to critiques people brought forward. I'm fairly sure what he does is the best strategy to raise successful ant colonies.
 
And on a note, Formiculture complaining about THA's founding practices (which actually have been tested and are likely the best way of ensuring a queen's survival) is not just ludicrous, it's outright hypocritcal as it took Formiculture TWO YEARS to not ban Joseph Kim EVEN AFTER HE WAS CONFIRMED A SCAMMER AND ILLEGAL SELLER OF EXOTIC ANTS. Yes, he never got banned. He just left for greener (and even less regulated) pastures at some point after having a great learning experience on how to illegally sell ants on Formiculture and continued to damage the antkeeping hobby until he fiinally got blown out of the water by the USDA.


Joseph Kim was an illegal seller, but making blatantly false claims that he was a scammer to further your point is scummy. Please stick to the facts, and btw I did not "bully" anyone out of aak as you like to claim. Ask anyone who left who I supposedly "bullied" about why they left.
Ok- why bring this thread back from the dead?
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"God made..... all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. (including ants) And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:25 NIV version


#109 Offline TechAnt - Posted June 25 2020 - 7:47 AM

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Boosting with pupae is a good way to increase a queen's chance of founding successfully as even a single worker makes an enormous difference in a colony's chances for survival. I am VERY sure that larger sellers like Uncle Milton will definitely adopt this practice just to reduce the amount of failing queens. And do I really have to remind you on the study about the genetic composition of Pogonomyrmex colonies which revealed that a good chunk of every wild colony's workers aren't actually their own but workers from other colonies that got lost and begged for acceptiance in another colony? Apparently Pogonomyrmex are particularly accepting when it comes to workers from other colonies.
 
The way I have experienced THA so far is that he's someone who really wants to bring the hobby forward, is very openly and pretty actively talking with actual and potential costumers and generally listens to critiques people brought forward. I'm fairly sure what he does is the best strategy to raise successful ant colonies.
 
And on a note, Formiculture complaining about THA's founding practices (which actually have been tested and are likely the best way of ensuring a queen's survival) is not just ludicrous, it's outright hypocritcal as it took Formiculture TWO YEARS to not ban Joseph Kim EVEN AFTER HE WAS CONFIRMED A SCAMMER AND ILLEGAL SELLER OF EXOTIC ANTS. Yes, he never got banned. He just left for greener (and even less regulated) pastures at some point after having a great learning experience on how to illegally sell ants on Formiculture and continued to damage the antkeeping hobby until he fiinally got blown out of the water by the USDA.


Joseph Kim was an illegal seller, but making blatantly false claims that he was a scammer to further your point is scummy. Please stick to the facts, and btw I did not "bully" anyone out of aak as you like to claim. Ask anyone who left who I supposedly "bullied" about why they left.
Ok- why bring this thread back from the dead?
Yes, why? We don’t need more pointless arguing.
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My Ants:
(x1) Campontous semitstaceus ~20 workers, 1 Queen
(x1) Camponotus vicinus ~10 workers, 1 Queen (all black variety)
(x1) Tetramorium immigrans ~100 workers, 1 Queen
(x1) Myrmercocystus mexicanus -1 Queen
(x2) Mymercocystus mimcus -1 Queen
(x1) Mymercocystus testaceus ~45 workers, 1 Queen

#110 Offline Mdrogun - Posted September 19 2020 - 2:27 PM

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I know they can be harmful, and I don’t treat it as rhetoric, but in my neighborhood, some Tetramorium colonies disappeared and were replaced with Lasius and vice versa.

 

I'm still on the fence about Tetramorium immigrans. As it has been naturalized. And it's not going anywhere, so might as enjoy it. I could make the same argument against rats . The biggest problem would be telling the difference between Tetramorium immigrans and the more unpleasant Tetramorium tsushimae which are more problematic towards ground nesting ants . Tetramorium immigrans is still being and whole Tetramorium Sp. Is still needs a lot of work, they form hybrids
Fairly easy and with having such a large geographic range in the U.S. Tetramorium immigrans has been kept for years now by many ant keepers,formally known as Tetramorium caespitum. So can see that there's a lot of confusion about what we refer to as "Tetramorium" among scientists and researchers. I don't know who will see this I'm not very good at this forum based communication. But in closing, sometimes it's good to just enjoy life. Because are no guarantees of anything and Mother Nature always wins.

 

Just wanted to comment on this further. 

 

Like I mentioned previously, areas where they are absent have an astonishing level of biodiversity compared to areas where they are present. Yes, they are not like Paratrechina longicornis or Linepithema humile and wipe out all other ant spp., but they do cause significant damage and make it impossible for many of our natives to survive.

 

Recently, when I was in Northcentral Illinois I found Pheidole bicarinata in a subway parking lot. Anybody who lives in the Midwest would be astonished. Why? Because this was a very rural community and Tetramorium immigrans had not spread to it. They are a death sentence for many of the 'cooler' species we have in the temperate US. 

 

You guys are correct about Tetramorium tsushimae being far worse. I saw them when I visited St. Louis. They are like Paratrechina longicornis or Linepithema humile. Possibly even worse. When I found them, I found 0 other ant spp. Maybe the small cryptic species were present, but not in any significant number. This is likely due to their supercolonial nature, same as with the aforementioned species. While they are damaging like that, the scary thing about them is not that they are pushing out Tetramorium immigrans. It's that unlike them, they are able to survive in undisturbed habitats. In theory, this is what can cause extinction events for certain species. Tetramorium immigrans cannot penetrate into undisturbed wilderness, and even if they kill off the native ants in disturbed areas, they won't be able to completely destroy their entire bloodline. The same cannot be said for T. tsushimae.

 

Furthermore, even just a small impact that one person makes by consciously damaging them does make a significant difference. Take AnthonyP163's yard for example. By consciously hurting their populations, you are able to see native species start bouncing back. Since those colonies then produce alates, it has a domino effect. They may seed hundreds or thousands of native colonies. While yes, they are likely to suffer due to Tetramorium immigrans wherever they found, at least they have a chance at surviving. So even just a singular yard free of T. immigrans could go on to impact the entire diversity of your immediate neighborhood.


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Currently Keeping:
Trachymyrmex septentrionalis

Pheidole pilifera

Forelius sp. (Monogynous, bicolored) "Midwestern Forelius"
Crematogaster cerasi

Pheidole bicarinata

Aphaenogaster rudis

Camponotus chromaiodes

Formica sp. (microgena species)

Nylanderia cf. arenivega





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