Research For College

[PurpleYote]

Hello PurpleYote here, I am curious why a place such as a college cannot receive or have colonies of exotic ants or even ants from another state I would like some help and maybe someone could point me in the direction of who I must talk to, to help me help others by studying these fantastic creatures.

[CabboAntsGuy]

You have come to the perfect place! Ok, you may not know, but you just wondered into one of the most heated ant debates ever. Some people go for exotic ants because they say their native ants aren't that interesting. Some go against exotic ants because if they manage to escape, they could destroy the environment around you. I personally go for native ants.

So your college is probably doing the right thing. Also bringing in invasive ants, could kill the ants!

Here is a video to explain it more.[youtube]https://youtu.be/yzyPnIPcf64[/youtube]

if you are looking to get into the hobby and catch your first queen, or get your first colony, any of the AntsCanada videos would be helpful.

As far as someone to talk to. Anyone here on the AC forum would be good.

[antnest8]

It is a heated debate, but in the u.s. you can't import ant queens. But I am pretty sure there are licences that can be obtained to keep exotic ants. I would think collages could obtain these licences because of research.

[antnest8]

I just googled how-to get a permit and this came up. Maybe this can help. https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/planthealth/import-information/permits/regulated-organism-and-soil-permits/insects-and-mites/CT_Insects

[arthurnottheking]

I just googled how-to get a permit and this came up. Maybe this can help. https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/planthealth/import-information/permits/regulated-organism-and-soil-permits/insects-and-mites/CT_Insects

Hello,

Thanks for the reference. I was shocked that the permit is also required for drosophila flies. What about similar laws in Canada for Canadian colleges?
An interesting read: "Carbonear college prof brings the heat with fire ant research" - https://www.thetelegram.com/news/carbonear-college-prof-brings-the-heat-with-fire-ant-research-180877/

[Antsanyone]

As a huge fan of certain exotic ant species, and a hopeful myrmecologist, I was very happy to discover that there is a permit you can apply for to import ants (and there's a lot of caveats before they'll give you said permit). One day, I hope to do some research on RIFA to see how we can control the spread of the invasive pest ants.

[alexjohnson10]

Hello, I would like to add my point of view here. As for me, this is a great initiative to place these ants at a college where they can be learned.