Not to believe Argentine ants lead the largest and most dangerous predatory organism on the planet

2023-06-20 00:00:00

Las Argentine ants Are the main members of what European scientists have already called “the largest and most dangerous predatory organism in the worldor”, with all that this implies for the Nature.

“Argentine ants They currently make up a colony that stretches from Galicia, in northwestern Spain, along the Mediterranean south to Genoa, in Italy.. A cooperative unit of 6,000 kilometers long”; explained, a Next Science, Luís Calcaterra, CONICET researcher at the Foundation for the Study of Invasive Species (FUEDEI).

“During the last 150 years, Argentine ants have broken all known barriers and borders.. Either naturally or with the help of humans, they managed to leave their native area to conquer the world and change human life irreversibly”, added the scientist.

the basin of Silver river It constitutes the main exit door for the most invasive of the planet and this led to the Argentina is one of the main exporters of ants in the world.

In fact, according to official data, of the 40 species that emigrated from South America to Europe until 1999, 5 did so from Argentina and unfortunately they are known throughout the world for the serious damage they cause in ecosystems,since they affect others so much insects y arachnidsas well as other species of ants.

It’s about the argentine ant (Linepithema humile), the red fire ant (Solenopsis invicta), the little fire ant (Wasmannia auropunctata), la black fire ant (Solenopsis ritcheri) and the big-headed ant from South America (Pheidole obscurithorax), of which, According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the first three are on the list of the 100 most harmful exotic species in the world for humans

“If the Argentine ant finds a resource, it can quickly communicate it to other workers. The key is its type of reproduction and the ability to form clonal super colonies.that is, several anthills that cooperate with each other, and where all its members are identical”, affirmed Calcaterra.

“In this way, they are very efficient and can optimize the feeding area. For example, the small fire ant managed to conquer all of Israel with the introduction of a single female from Zárate, hence its enormous voracity”, concluded the Argentine scientist.