New research using insight from virtual gaming and real-world ant battles shows how native insects can be given an upper hand against some aggressive introduced species, which could help guide non-native invasive ant management.
These concepts were then confirmed in the real-world by observing ant battles between Australian meat ants, a native species, and smaller Argentine ants, a notorious pest.
“We used two ant species that clearly differed in their fighting prowess.”
Dr Bruce Webber, Principal Research Scientist at CSIRO, said the ant battlefield research could have practical application for non-native invasive ant management.
“Non-native invasive ants are some of the worst pests on the planet, costing the global economy tens of billions of dollars per year,” Dr Webber said.
https://www.csiro.au/en/news/All/Articles/2023/August/Ant-warfare
We formed small armies of 20 meat ants, and opposed them in the lab to increasingly large armies of up to 200 Argentine ants.
The fact that small but numerous non-native invasive ants are more successful against their large native competitors in simplified environments makes sense, in light of our experimental study of ant warfare.
Just like for humans, the outcome of ant wars depends on the nature of the battlefield.
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Interesting study… be good to see one done on fire ants.
