Giant Ant "Supercolony" Found

<snip>

A GIANT colony of ants has been discovered spanning 100km across Melbourne.

The supercolony of Argentine ants stretches from Taylors Lakes, north-west of Melbourne, to Sorrento, south of the city.

The ants have also been spotted in Altona, in the western suburbs and in Blackburn, in Melbourne's east.

Monash University researcher Elissa Suhr, who discovered the supercolony, said they may look like harmless household pests, but the ants posed a significant risk to Melbourne's biodiversity.

They had the potential to displace native plants and animals, she said.

"In Argentina, their native homeland, ant colonies span tens of metres, are genetically diverse and highly aggressive towards one another so population numbers never explode and they are no threat to other plants and animals," she said.

"In Melbourne their genetic make-up and behaviour is really different.

http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,10411236%255E13762,00.html

They've got Joan Collins under mind control! They're gonna make us work the sugar mines for them! :scared:

welcome our giant colonial ant overlords.

ROFL!!

:D

"Here, Argentine ants no longer fight and have formed a supercolony extending at least 100 kilometres across the city.

"The absence of fighting allows colonies to coalesce so that ant numbers build up to epidemic proportions, which in turn can lead to greater impacts on native biodiversity."

i'll be happy :D

We have the same Argentine ant supercolonies here in California. They seem to be pretty intelligent, not the individual ants of course, but the colonies themselves. A large, stable ant colony can be trained just like a rat or a dog can be trained.

I'm not kidding.

I was thinking of that 1950s movie (Them?)

But, 100km is over 60 miles across. That is mammoth - isn't that like the size of Rhode Island?

:shrug:

Johnny Rico: You're some sort of big, fat, smart-bug, aren't you?

A truly puzzling movie from 1974
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070531/

..could do some REAL damage. (Harold!..What were you doing in the bathroom so long!)

:bounce:

And are following the doctrine of unilateralism.

I have it on the best of authority, the Aussies will welcome the ants with flowers and kisses.