[leps-talk] Cut Off, LA - 4/24/02

[Anne Kilmer]

Erik Runquist wrote:

> 
> Technically the bite is not the nasty part of the fire ant.  They use 
> their mandibles to lift up a patch of skin and then curl their abdomen 
> around and BAM.  Its the sting of formic acid that sends you 
> scampering!! Not that I've ever sat still and watched the whole process! 
> I never knew I could dance as well as after stepping on mounds in 
> sandals. Like you Anne, I've never been able to resist the urge NOT to 
> scratch. Having grown up in the Northwest but gone to college in 
> Florida, I thank my lucky charms that they have not yet invaded the 
> Northwest!!  Nasty creatures!
>  Thankfully in Oregon,
> Erik
> 

Nobody likes a smart-ass. (Pun deliberate, though feeble.)
I don't like either end of the fire ant; not the end that bites nor the 
end that stings, but I have to admit that like most ant-bitten mortals, 
I complain about the bite, not the sting.
An entomological inexactitude, or a step into the common name of a 
phenomenon.

What I particularly hate about the fire ant is its replacement of many 
of our nice little natives .... and, what's worse, people call them "red 
ants" which they're not, and murder our Florida red ants under the name 
of fire ants.
T. albipes probably does bite, now that you mention it, but 
ineffectively, lacking that all-important sting.

Has anyone (I digress) thought of a way of kindling a fondness in the 
hearts of man towards the Camponotus species that tends the Miami Blue 
Butterfly (Cyclargus thomasi bethunebakeri)? As far as I know, folks 
just hate bull ants, and somehow we'll have to persuade butterfly 
gardeners to cut them some slack, at least as they wander about on the 
balloon vine shoots.
The butterfly can get along without them, but I'm betting it's better 
off with them.
Well, I guess I'll have to compose a Chant for the Ant.
I'll post it on the Miami Blue list, once Bob gets it running.
Cheers
Anne Kilmer
Mayo
Ireland


 
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