Battle of the Ants
Would you be unnerved canada goose black friday sale if the ant you met had a reputation for canada goose outlet new york city conquering all canada goose outlet jackets around it an ant so successful at battling its way through the world, that it had been given a name, ‘invicta’, that literally means ‘unconquerable’, ‘invincible’ or canada goose outlet black friday ‘undefeated’?
And might you think again if the ant in front of you was actually backed up by a million others, which together had resisted all human efforts to exterminate them?
Is that a fight with canada goose outlet in usa an ant you could win?
canada goose outlet black friday The question is less ridiculous than it first sounds, because around the world, animals and people are being confronted by rogue populations of biting, dominant, invasive, colonising and all conquering species of ant. canada goose outlet black friday
canada goose outlet online uk Just a handful of ant species in particular are to blame. canada goose outlet online uk
canada goose outlet uk sale Of the estimated 14,000 species of ant, only half of have been canada goose outlet reviews studied in any detail. Most of these diverse species live in social colonies with a rigid caste system. The queen’s role is to reproduce, she is the mother of the colony. Drones are fertile males that service the queen while princesses are her fertile daughters that will establish new colonies. The rest are the queen’s sterile daughters that defend the colony as soldiers or provide food, maintenance and care as workers. canada goose outlet uk sale
The best known ant species have remarkable adaptations to their environments, such as the famous leafcutter ants that carry canada goose outlet parka 50 times their bodyweight, fetching pieces of leaf to use as fertiliser for nourishing fungus. In honeypot ant colonies, specially adapted workers known as repletes store sugar and protein solutions in their swollen abdomens which can grow to the size of a cherry. Slavemaker ants are named for their habit of shirking the hard work,instead capturing the pupae of other colonies to raise as slave workers.
canada goose jacket outlet These tiny insects are incredibly tough: fire ants can form rafts to float on flood waters, species in Canada produce their own anti freeze to survive at below 20C, while the desert ants of the Sahara forage in searing 60C heat. canada goose jacket outlet
Such evolutionary adaptations are fascinating; but in the wrong place they are just the advantage needed to dominate an canada goose outlet store ecosystem, with devastating consequences.
canada goose parka uk A few ant species have adapted so well to new environments that they are called ‘tramp ants’ due to their ability to move freely around the world. canada goose parka uk
canada goose parka outlet They have become both famous and feared, for wreaking billions of dollars worth of damage and pushing other species to the brink of extinction. canada goose parka outlet
canada goose outlet store montreal These ‘tramp ant’ species are so organised and efficient they are causing concern around the globe; earning inclusion on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) list official canada goose outlet of the 100 most invasive species. canada goose outlet store https://www.salecanadagooseoutlets.com/ montreal
Welcome to the battle of the ants, where people and animals are going to head to head with the Argentine ant, big headed ant, red imported fire ant, little fire ant and yellow crazy ant, which together vie for the title of world’s canada goose outlet nyc worst.
How each of these ants have travelled from their native homes is easy to explain, but impossible to reverse. Their tiny size made it easy to stow on board trading ships as long ago as the 18th Century. To this day, despite much tighter biocontrols in shipping and air freight, they can still be overlooked and hitch a ride in containers with food, furniture and vegetation.
What is remarkable is how these versatile insects canada goose outlet canada have adapted to rapidly establish themselves in new territories.
canada goose outlet orlando Most people are familiar with the phenomenon of flying ants when fertile princesses and drones take to the wing in swarms to mate. Successfully mated females then set up new colonies. That demonstrates that many ants have a natural empire building instinct. But several of the most invasive species have adapted to take the risk out of this reproductive strategy. canada goose outlet orlando
buy canada goose uk From humble beginnings living along the Paran River in South America, Argentine ants (Linepithema humile) have now spread to every single continent in the world except Antarctica. buy canada goose uk
canada goose outlet sale This global invasion was made possible canada goose outlet partly by the ants’ unusual canada goose outlet online uk camaraderie. canada goose outlet sale
Researchers have found that canada goose outlet sale invasive Argentine ant queens are actually tolerant of fertile princesses setting up as additional breeders within a colony. By breeding in an existing colony, princesses canada goose outlet online immediately have a willing army of workers to help to raise their broods, which results in the rapid expansion of the ants’ population.
canada goose outlet belgium Argentine ants are not unique in this behaviour, it has been observed in a number of invasive ant species and is referred to as a polygene colony. canada goose outlet belgium
canada goose outlet website legit Another trick exhibited by invaders is to establish new colonies via budding. This is when a fertile female leaves on foot with a number of workers, rather than the riskier option of trying to survive the rigours of a nuptial flight to find a mate, then begin a colony from scratch as a lone parent. canada goose outlet website legit
Whereas ants are usually fiercely territorial, Argentine ants are curiously peace loving towards their neighbours provided they are family. Invasive Argentine ants live harmoniously in enormous super colonies that stretch up to 6,000 kilometres along the coastlines of the Mediterranean, California and western Japan.
Researchers even found that when members of these geographically separated colonies were introduced to each other, they showed remarkably low levels of aggression.
canada goose outlet online store review Scientists point to these results as evidence that humans have actually fostered this family connection by repeatedly introducing Argentine ants from around the world to one another through global trade. canada goose outlet online store review
canada goose outlet toronto factory Unfortunately, the isolated parts of the world where we benefit most from trade are also some of the most vulnerable to these unwitting biological exchanges. Many islands have no native ant populations so when invading ants arrive they establish unhindered and at alarming rates. canada goose outlet toronto factory
canada goose outlet nyc Yellow crazy ants (Anoplolepis gracilipes), thought to originate in West Africa and identifiable by their long golden legs and chaotic movements when disturbed, first invaded Christmas island canada goose outlet in the Indian Ocean in the 1930s canada goose outlet nyc.