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May 13, 2013 at 9:27 am · Filed under Uncategorized and tagged: ant, Fire ant, Pogonomyrmex

Times have been tough for native ant species, especially those that prefer open habitats. Increased competition from invasives, specifically the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, have made many native species more and more scarce. Last week I found evidence that at least one native species appears to be holding on despite this competition.

For the first time in years, I found a newly forming harvester ant colony here at Stengl. This species, Pogonomyrmex comanche, shares the same habitat preference as the imported fire ants, open areas with little canopy cover. The appearance of these natives, shows they are colonizing the area (from aerial mating flights) despite heavy presence of fire ants.

This is very encouraging because it is something we have not seen here in quite some time. It is unknown whether this has happend due to ongoing bio-control efforts against the fire ants, the extended drought cycle we have been in, or some combination of both. It appears that some change may seem to be loosening the grip that the invasive fire ant has held on the meadow areas here at Stengl. Regardless of the driving force, it is nice to welcome back some natives to the area even if this does prove just to be an anomaly.

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