Researchers find 3,600-mile ant supercolony (http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/science/04/15/super.antcolonies.ap/index.html)

And since I've had the occasional CNN link disappear on me:

The Yahoo link (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020415/ap_on_re_eu/super_ant_colonies_2)
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A supercolony of ants has been discovered stretching thousands of miles from the Italian Riviera along the coastline to northwest Spain.

It's the largest cooperative unit ever recorded, according to Swiss, French and Danish scientists, whose findings appear in Tuesday's issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The 3,600-mile colony consists of billions of Argentine ants living in millions of nests that cooperate with one another.

Normally, ants from different nests fight. But the researchers concluded that ants in the supercolony were all close enough genetically to recognize one another, despite being from different nests with different queens ....So ... wow. That's all I can say. Wow. Pretty cool.

Gotta love nature.

thanx,
Tiassa :cool:

Thanx tiassa,

I would never thought that nature would provide such a large co-operative when it's basic rule for the ant was against it.

There was also another link on the CNN page I found of interest where they are trying to introduce a predator fly for the fire ant here in the US. I do not exactly agree with the idea of just releasing them without some further tests to verify that they are not going to make another problem like the ants themselves have done. They seem quite content that the only thing the flies will go after is the fireant.

We already have good examples of introduced species into the US that are not native to the area and what the results have been by not containing them. (Given that containing them were possible)

Gives me the willies to think that we are going to do this purposefully in the hope that it will help control the fire ant problem.

What we need is a modified bacteria that is already present here to have a predisposition towards fireants...

Armadillos do eat fireants if they are really hungry, but our dog makes a meal out of them, so we are stuck with ant poisons which is not a good thing to use. I am thinking of pouring vinegars or baking soda to see if they have any effect.

Yea we have had problems introducing speacies to. The cane toad comes to mind. I think we also use sprays to kill fire ants, evil basteds they kill our native ants.

I can't say what the specific result will be, but I had once read in a newspaper column that coffee grounds around the doorway or windows (any opening) will help keep ants out. Apparently, they don't like walking on coffee grounds for acidity reasons or some-such.

So I'm not sure how many pounds of ground brown it would take, but you could always brew up a big batch of thick, superstrong coffee and ... well, okay, what size anthills are we talking about here? I don't mind ants, but I really do hate going after insect colonies. Part of a cliff came away once on Blake Island in Puget Sound, and I was suddenly covered with a good number of beetles.

But yeah, try coffee-bombing them. If nothing else, you'll schiz them out for a few days. It'd be funny, at least.

thanx,
Tiassa :cool:

I wonder if the ants are following a magnetic patterning around power line conduits.

http://www.mmcmetlab.com/sciforums/ant1.jpg

If there's a 3600-mile supercolony of ants in Europe, which has developed in less than a century, what are the likelihoods of there being even larger conglomerations in their native South America? (or do we think that it was because these ants were not native to European ecology that they were able to dominate?)

Let me see, a 'supercolony' made up of many different city-like colonies.........is this not a nation?

May be God decided, our time is over...after we destroy ourselves through biological and radiological bombs - the ants can take over above ground too.

I wonder if the ants are developing distributed brain power...

So a science fiction movie might, once again, prove prophetic?

http://www.klattu.com.ar/images/them.jpg

Peace.

goofyfish
lol's. Right out of the B grade movies. What, early 60's vintage?

Them! (1954)


Directed by
Gordon Douglas

Writing credits
Russell S. Hughes (adaptation)
Ted Sherdeman

Genre: Sci-Fi / Horror (more)Tagline: A horror horde of crawl-and-crush giants clawing out of the earth from mile-deep catacombs!

Plot Summary: Nuclear tests in the desert result in the growth of gigantic mutant ants ...


Complete credited cast:
James Whitmore .... Sgt Ben Peterson, New Mexico State Police
Edmund Gwenn .... Dr. Harold Medford
Joan Weldon .... Dr. Patricia 'Pat' Medford
James Arness .... Robert Graham, FBI Agent
Onslow Stevens .... Brigadier General O'Brien, Air Force Intel
Sean McClory (I) .... Major Kibbee, Gen. O'Brien's Aide
Chris Drake (I) .... Trooper Ed Blackburn
Sandy Descher .... The Ellinson Girl
Mary Alan Hokanson .... Mrs. Thomas Lodge
Don Shelton (I) .... Trooper Capt. Fred Edwards
Fess Parker .... Alan Crotty, Lazy K Ranch Foreman
Olin Howlin .... Jensen, Patient in Alcoholic Ward
(more)

Runtime: 94
Country: USA
Language: English
Color: Black and White
Sound Mix: Mono
Certification: Australia:PG / Finland:K-12 / Germany:12 / USA:Unrated

:eek:

Or you could just have provided the imdb link :)

Wow, pretty nifty, maybe one day after we humans kill ourselves, the ants will evolve into a sentient species!




Praise the ant nation! We have little time left! You can still become a slave to your new overlords, there is still time!

I saw on discovery channel that, in the Southeast (USA) where fireants are a pretty big problem, professional exterminators were using these high-pressured steam sprayers to help control the ant populations. Seemed pretty effective too, and, it was non-toxic

Originally posted by tiassa
Researchers find 3,600-mile ant supercolony (http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/science/04/15/super.antcolonies.ap/index.html)

And since I've had the occasional CNN link disappear on me:

The Yahoo link (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020415/ap_on_re_eu/super_ant_colonies_2)

the CNN link doesn't work, someone fix it for me? :confused: :(

Its the same story on BBC:

Ant Supercolony (http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1932000/1932509.stm)

These Ants should be an example for all man-kind. If these ants are of 'different' race but are similar, surely we can do the same.

Ants, we salute you


http://image.pathfinder.com/Life/space/giantleap/images/sec5/salute.jpg

Welcome to sciforums, Zoidberg.

hahah, oh how the simpsons seems to foretell of so much...

On another note, there have been cases of huge families (thousands upon thousands) of praire dogs in America's west found working together as one, while not nearly as big, it's just another example of how spectacular nature is. btw, prairie dogs are definitely my favorite animal, if you havent ever got to know them or read up on them you should. For those in Europe you have your own breed of ground squirrels that are very similar (they had an article on them in scientific american (i think that was the magazine anyways), which showed that animals were more willing to help those they know then to help strangers (as if we didnt already know this).

oh man I want to start a prairie dog thread now, but I'm certain I'd be the only one posting in it. so ill just give on more cool fact. They have been known to save their wounded, by bringing the one that is hurt from outside to in a 'hospital' area of their den. Also they sacrfice themselves for the good of the colony, when a predator appears, one will start chippering like crazy, hoping the predator will eat him instead of a friend....amazing animals, damn i love those things.

SORRY BOUT THAT.

Originally posted by tallest
Let me see, a 'supercolony' made up of many different city-like colonies.........is this not a nation?

Or is it a "species"?

I wonder if the same applies to hives of killer bees? :bugeye:

Originally posted by kmguru
I wonder if the ants are developing distributed brain power...

Developing? You haven't heard of "swarm intelligence"? :confused:

Ants are an alternative model for building intelligent robots.

Nature kicks so much ASS!!! I'm sooo in awe...

I'm afraid:eek:

Lock your doors and hide your children

Originally posted by Thor
Lock your doors and hide your children

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself"