Ants and Myrmecophila christinae - Orchid Board

smweaver · #1 02-27-2022, 08:35 AM

I have a question for any amateur or professional entomologist--especially in you live in South Florida.

I just received a good-size piece (previously bloomed, based on the remnants of what appeared to have been two thick spikes) of Myrmecophila christinae a couple of weeks ago. I didn't realize it until yesterday, but there's a thriving colony of ants that (I think) must be living inside one or more of the pseudobulbs (there is only the small piece of wood that the plant is attached to, so I'm not sure where else the ants could be living). At first, due to their diminutive size (approximately 2 mm in length), I didn't think they were ants. But a jewelers loupe helped to confirm that they are. They are a bright red-amber color and very fast.

Does anyone know what genus or species this could be? The guy in South Florida who sent me the piece of plant profusely apologized for shipping ants to me. But I actually told him I was contacting him not to complain, but to tell him how excited I was when I found them and to ask if he knew what they were. He didn't have any idea (and then suggested various ways for me to get rid of them, which isn't what I'm interested in doing).

I did experiment and allow several of them to crawl on my hand. I didn't feel any stings or bites, so I think I can (hopefully) rule out fire ants. But if anyone might have an idea of what they could be, please let me know.

Thank you.

Steve

thefish1337 · #2 02-27-2022, 10:16 AM

Super cool! If you could take a picture of them there is quite a few ant people online who could probably help. reddit.com/r/whatisthisbug is always a good spot for insect ID.

smweaver · #3 02-27-2022, 10:25 AM

Thank you! I've actually been attempting to photograph them. But I'm finding that my iPhone is having some trouble with taking a macro photograph of a fast-moving target that's 2 mm long. I'll keep trying. I thought about dipping a q-tip in water and grabbing one of them that way, but (and I know this sounds rather ridiculous) I don't want to damage them either.

Dusty Ol' Man · #4 02-27-2022, 10:27 AM

If your area has a university ag extension, they should have someone there who can identify them for you.

estación seca · #5 02-27-2022, 10:55 AM

Don't risk a fire ant sting. They're awful.

Dimples · #6 02-27-2022, 11:37 AM

I second ES’s comment. We have a ton of fire ant colonies around our property and they looooove to bite me. They swarm my feet (nobody else’s) if I’m in sandals so I only wear boots outside. Misery doesn’t even begin to describe it.

Do try and ID what they are. If they turn out to be a non-native species, please kill them asap. No sense risking them spreading.

estación seca · #7 02-27-2022, 11:51 AM

Esters and oils in citrus peels are toxic to many ants. Puree your citrus peels in a blender with a little water. Pour it on fire ant colonies. If you keep it up you will knock down the population.

Dimples · #8 02-27-2022, 01:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by estación seca

Esters and oils in citrus peels are toxic to many ants. Puree your citrus peels in a blender with a little water. Pour it on fire ant colonies. If you keep it up you will knock down the population.

We’ve used Orange Guard in our work greenhouses with decent results so I’ll give that a try if needed. I don’t think we’d be able to collect enough peels to go the DIY route, there’s just too many colonies.

I’ve been going after the ones coming up between the sidewalk and patio pavers with a heavy soap spray to discourage them. So far it’s working but they’re not very active right now. I also use Sluggo Plus around the exterior of the house, and will break out the spinosad spray/drench once warm weather comes around and I can identify where they’re living. If it was legal, I’d hire a aarmory of anteaters to hang out here for a few weeks in the summer.