The AntsCanada Global Ant Nursery Project™

[xTNxANTMANx]

I really have no say in this but just my personal opinion. Under no circumstance should they be released into the wild! Any imported species for that matter but especially fire ants. In this situation I would tell you to care for them if that's what you want and if you know a hundred percent that this other person is going to release them otherwise. I am wanting a fire ant colony myself and have been looking for a queen for 2 years now as they are in my area already. Once I do catch one and raise a colony, as cruel as it sounds if I ever decided I could not care for them no longer or didn't want them I would ultimately put them in my freezer and kill the whole colony. This is only because they are not native to my area and are very destructive and bad for the ecosystem. If you know 110% that this person isn't going to kill them but instead release them then I totally advise you to collect them before they do so and if you ever decided you didn't want them you would have to kill them.

[Hunter36o]

Personally I am currently not in this situation thankfully but after readying a post on an other topic in the Everything else forum it put my pro life mode into overdrive because that guy had a friend who was originally going to release them but then killed them. Turns out he had an allergy he was not aware of so his reasons are valid but his method not so much. I find it very cruel to kill what i read was 500+ workers. I understand fire ants grow literally like wild fire which of course suits them by name and nature haha but of course can be very overwhelming and to lower their food intake and temperature is a bit more dangerous for fire ants. But can all this justify killing a whole colony? Please do not become offended from this next part but this is where my hate for humans comes in. Yes. I said hate and humans in the same sentence but bare with me for a minute. Humans for many different reasons (okay we have to excuse allergies because it put said humans at risk and i am still pro life even here) can just turn around and say they are bored or not bothered putting effort into such care that they result in killing their pets or abandoning them and okay although the species should not be in a certain location. Should they die because humans broke the rules.... again... We subject these poor creatures to death just because they do not belong, now do not get me wrong as I disagree with releasing them for obvious reasons. But there other solutions out there.

And for example if u got the queen and then decided you can no longer do this as u said they are now in your area and can be caught wild. Would u not rather find a secluded area. Not a park or forest but a more like an almost abandoned are? I just feels wrong to kill regardless of the reasons. Like 500+ is almost half of my village where i live. It is almost genocide.

[xTNxANTMANx]

I 110% agree with you...i dont condone the killing of said "pets" either but it is not ecologically responsible to release something that doesnt belong. Now i may get bashed or even removed but personally...i would more than likely find a nice area in which i know they already exist and probably release them. But again, it would all depend on the situation. S. invicta is running rampent in my area and even taking over S. richteri. If i had invicta it eould probably be the freezer if i couldnt find another suitable owner. If it were richteri...id release them probably but there again, if i capture a "fire ant" queen, i dont plan on releasing them period but keeping them. I never take the easy way out but again, just my opinion. All the above is just "what if" on my part...

[Hunter36o]

I also agree with you as I would hate to see the locals die because of some exotic ants. There is where my whole issue is from. I dont want them released at the risk of others but I also hate the idea of killing them. I am with you on the fact that if they are already in the area due to human activity or greed then a secluded area seems in the ants best interest. Assuming no one is willing to take them in.
I hope you catch a queen because if they are a newly invasive breed introduced to your area. Catching a few queens could prove beneficial as it would be less invasive queens in the wild?
And if you do catch one, if it also interests you I would be highly interested in keeping up to date and in touch on their progress as here in Ireland the only "red" ant is roger and its not actually a red ant species. And as I previously stated I would never import any ants for myself I would only adopt from an idiot who did so in the first place.

Again only if you are okay with it and willing.
I myself plan you have a Tetramorium Caespitum and a Lasius Niger queens myself by the end of this month.

[PwnerPie]

Its a bad situation for sure. Releasing the fire ants will doom all the native species in the area, so if the person cannot keep them, killing them is the most "humane" action to take.

Personally, fire ants are the only ones i will kill in nature. I do not even take wild colonies that have alrea been founded, as they already made it through the hardest part. But fire ants cause so much destruction, anything we could do to rid the US of them is only going to have a positive overall impact. Long term life > short term.

[StormDancer]

Perhaps everyone will be less conflicted if there was a purpose to the deaths of said fire ants? I too have a budding colony, not s. Invicta thankfully, but not a chance I'll release this colony into the wild.

They have yet to discover an effective way to control fire ant populations which is why they cause such an issue. Why not let those here with colonies see if they can discover a way to control them? That way, if they are to be killed, it will not be pointless.

[Hunter36o]

I agree will all points I would just not be able to bring myself to kill 100's or more lives. Ants or anything else. Personally I feel if I was in the position were I knew risk of release or death is going down. I feel temporary adoption is in order until I can give them over to a zoo or insect museum. At least funds for their respectful care would be there and it could help the general public understand them better.

Tho I would prefer not to come into this position full stop.

[Jason310]

Hello
I am new to this.
Looking for GAN farmer near St Louis MO
Thanks
Jason

[XxNerdGirlxX]

My son and I are very interested in getting our first colony started but are having trouble finding a GAM farmer in our area. We live in Pensacola Florida area any help is greatly appreciated and would even love info on which ants may be in our area and therefore okay for us to attempt to acquire. Thank you for the help

[ZbsAntNation]

This is not about money for me but whats the general rate for a well started ant colony and Pennsylvania is boring for ant lovers during winter lol