Re: OT: ants
- To: iris-talk@onelist.com
- Subject: Re: [iris-talk] OT: ants
- From: B* S*
- Date: Fri, 24 Sep 1999 08:54:51 -0400
From: Bill Shear <BILLS@hsc.edu>
>>>Dennis,
>>> The imported fire ants here are either a very dark brown or black.
>>>Those #$% things are aggressive too. They tunnel into plants and can kill
>>>them. Usually, they are not a major deal, but if they get into Iris pools
>>>or in the Daylilies, they must be dealt with. Also, they can bore under and
>>>into trees, killing them.
>>> I wish there was a way to train alligators to eat fire ants... It also
>>>appears that those %#% things are spreading north.
More "urban legends" about fire ants. Certainly they are aggressive and
unpleasant animals, but their efforts are not directed at plants. Fire
ants do not "tunnel into plants and kill them" nor can they "bore under and
into trees, killing them." In fact, I don't know of any ants that do these
things. Fire ants are predators and scavengers that feed almost
exclusively on other insects and small, ground-dwelling animals.
Except for their activities in bringing various sucking insects to plants,
ants are not a threat to irises or other plant life.
I might also add that efforts to control the imported Fire ant in the
southern United States using massive sprayings of insecticides have been a
dismal, destructive failure, resulting in enormous environmental
damage--but lots of profits for the pesticide companies and their lackeys
in the agricultural colleges and state and federal departments of
agriculture.
Bill Shear
Department of Biology
Hampden-Sydney College
Hampden-Sydney VA 23943
(804)223-6172
FAX (804)223-6374
email<bills@hsc.edu>
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