Post AhpFVM4H7ToRvpc0QK by janbogar@mastodonczech.cz
(DIR) More posts by janbogar@mastodonczech.cz
(DIR) Post #Ahol1i8JWJoH3MRw6y by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-05-12T14:25:25Z
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Currently sowing a tiny garden for my field ants. I've kept field ants before and they didn't really thrive. I'm hoping if I can arrange for them to tend a heard of aphids they will be happier. They colony is about 15 strong, and the queen is lovely shiny and black. They are also very nervous and freak out at every new sound and vibration. Will a box of green plants calm them? We shall see!
(DIR) Post #AholbhE8Mn5QfTKaQK by kmmich@mas.to
2024-05-12T14:31:57Z
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@futurebird ooh, how considerate of you... I love it! What plants are you growing? What aphids are you going for?
(DIR) Post #AholnNDoZT1G68kYRU by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-05-12T14:34:02Z
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@kmmich Peas and lettuce. Hopefully the ants can keep the aphids from killing them. Ants will move their herds to keep them from overgrazing a single leaf... and they sometimes eat a few of the heard. The aphids do not even seem to notice and are very docile as they are carried around and fussed over by the frantic ants.
(DIR) Post #AhomGHWYpkn0pDIpSC by faassen@fosstodon.org
2024-05-12T14:39:17Z
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@futurebird@kmmich Is there a special way you obtain the aphids? I had them on my indoor seedlings once and hated it.
(DIR) Post #AhomNR73a8CoagmjLM by faassen@fosstodon.org
2024-05-12T14:40:36Z
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@futurebirdThere is an ant colony that caters to the aphids in my redcurrant bush. There are so many aphids the leaves curl, yet the plant keeps producing currants. I hate picking them as the ants sting me.
(DIR) Post #AhomfxDSxdSDN0c3iS by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-05-12T14:43:30Z
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@faassen @kmmich I was just going to collect them from the park. So many of them tend to be basically double-pregnant* nearly all of the time so you only need one or two to get a boom...*double pregnant is when you are pregnant with babies who are also already pregnant... aphids are the apex fertility masters of the animal kingdom. It's crazy.
(DIR) Post #AhommM79IrI8KNi7UG by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-05-12T14:45:09Z
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@faassen The ants think you are trying to steal the valuable aphids. LOL. One way to remove aphids is with sticky tape. Though the ants will just bring them back. What kind of ants are they?
(DIR) Post #AhonD6t01siouuqkG8 by faassen@fosstodon.org
2024-05-12T14:49:43Z
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@futurebird@kmmich Yeah, I knew about their meta pregnancy! Not a fan of them on my seedlings. Outside usually my plants are fine, except one year when my lupines succumbed to them - I think it was a special species dedicated to lupines that made it over to Europe some decades ago (I research my garden enemies)
(DIR) Post #Ahonnj8PIdqBy3W6Qi by faassen@fosstodon.org
2024-05-12T14:56:35Z
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@futurebirdGood question about the species. I don't consider them big enemies so have done less research!They are black ones you see in gardens a lot in the Netherlands. Possibly Lasius niger? I shall try to stare at them more to figure it out this summer. I think the same species also likes making colonies in the bag of compost I keep in the greenhouse.
(DIR) Post #AhooS6KgT9trUxVkZM by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-05-12T15:03:46Z
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@faassen If they can sting they can't be Lasius. Some possible candidates are:Ponera coarctata or maybe the invasive Brachyponera chinensis... although, I have not seen those reported in Europe. Are you certain it was a sting and NOT a bite? There are very few ants that sting in the Netherlands.
(DIR) Post #AhooYOr6VxZ2gRg9FQ by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-05-12T15:04:34Z
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@michaelgemar Yes, it's a small glass box, and I don't think the plants will thrive, so I plant to plop in fresh seedlings every week so they can keep going all summer.
(DIR) Post #Ahopt3VhAecmWA4uuG by faassen@fosstodon.org
2024-05-12T15:19:27Z
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@futurebirdOh could well be a bite sorry. It just stings when they do so, but I don't think they use their hind part. It's not extremely painful and passes quickly. Is formic acid involved in an ant bite?
(DIR) Post #Ahoq86Ir4Lj3WWFKvQ by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-05-12T15:22:28Z
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@faassen It can be. Ants that can't sting will bite then apply acid to make it hurt more. Try looking at this page with a location filter ('filter by place,' on the upper-right corner) and see if you can recognize them. I find it's the fastest way to identify ants:https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/47336-Formicidae/browse_photos
(DIR) Post #AhoqfhaFTwJyhfP8jI by faassen@fosstodon.org
2024-05-12T15:28:43Z
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@futurebirdI took a note and will give them a good careful look next time I am at my garden plot. Thanks!
(DIR) Post #AhpA580cGiYd1pZjZQ by barrygoldman1@sauropods.win
2024-05-12T19:06:13Z
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@futurebird who are field ants?
(DIR) Post #AhpA8zdXL2hSDkcguu by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-05-12T19:06:52Z
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@barrygoldman1 Formica subsericea: the world's most nervous ants.
(DIR) Post #AhpAMeVKhkPUjaIbDs by barrygoldman1@sauropods.win
2024-05-12T19:08:59Z
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@futurebird one day i will learn to key out Formica. i remember back when i watched ants. there were at least 31) exsectoides, easy to spot2) black ones that invaded exsectoides nests? and defended with vigourous biting3) ones on the lawn that ran around like crazy.no doubt i was seeing other spp too.
(DIR) Post #AhpFVM4H7ToRvpc0QK by janbogar@mastodonczech.cz
2024-05-12T20:06:58Z
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@futurebird Regarding aphids: I just found an aphid infestation in my garden (central Europe), tended to by ants, and I was wondering: I assume ants are territorial and not all species farm aphids...wouldn't it be possible to control aphids by introducing competing ant species that would push out the aphid farming colony?I haven't seen this aphid control method mentioned anywhere, and you came to mind as the ant expert who might know :)
(DIR) Post #AhpHO0lE8nIXjJKQQS by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-05-12T20:28:08Z
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@janbogar Ants that don't farm aphids won't have a good reason to be on the plant. The best bet is removing the aphids with some sticky tape. This will annoy the ants, but they have other options for food.