Howdy everyone,
Last night I ran a UV light/moth sheet in my backyard for the first time.
We observed hundreds of winged Argentine Ants on the sheet, despite never having observed them on the property before.
We have mostly seen a number of other “ants” here, including Tapinoma, Pheidole, Solenopsis, Monomorium, and Ephuta.
We are wondering if there’s much evidence to show or reason to believe that a UV light could act as a “lure” that would initiate the establishment of a colony of Argentine Ants in our yard/house.
Some of the variables we’re unsure how to think about include:
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Distance from which a winged individual can be attracted to a light
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Whether attracting a larger number of individuals (as at a light) increases likelihood of new colony establishment vs. the occasional passing stray
A bit of a speculative question, I realize, but any input you can provide would be greatly appreciated!
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You are likely aware that many species of ants release few or no winged individuals for an entire year, and then based on environmental factors, release thousands at once. So the fact that you’ve not seen them before but saw many on this night might mean you happened to set out an attractant on the one night they happened to be flying. It raises the curious possibility that light trapping (and not releasing) on the proper night could be a way of slowing the spread of some invasive ants.
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As far as I know, the invasive populations of Linepithema humile, outside of their native range of South America, do not engage in the traditional nuptial flights that most ants engage in where both males and females mate during flight and then females disperse and found independent colonies. Budding is the method of dispersal for U.S. populations of argentine ants, so colonies generally only spread by having groups of queens and workers move to different nest sites by foot. Very little sexual reproduction takes place. Males are known to disperse from colonies by flight, and are often attracted to lights (I also get lone males at my lights occasionally here in NW Florida), but that doesn’t seem to be true for females.
So in short, no, I think it is probably impossible for UV lights to initiate colonization of this species because females don’t seem to disperse by flight in the United States, only males. They’re a pretty rare exception with respect to most other ants in that sense.
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