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Super Ant Colony in Australia

Posted by michael on from the no-picnics-for-you dept.

JamesD_UK writes "Elissa Suhr of the School of Biological Sciences at Monash University has discovered a 100km long colony of Argentine Ants in Melbourne. With a reduced genetic pool compared to ants native to south America, the Melbourne ants have put aside their differences and formed a super colony. The Argentine Ant poses a threat to native ants who are unable to compete, affecting animals further up the food chain (such as the coast horned lizard in South California). With the average size of an Argentine Ant at 3mm, you could fit 30 million insect overlords along the length of this colony!"

6 of 53 comments (clear)

  1. It's no wonder they're so tough by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    The Argentinean ants send all their convict ants to Australia. They are the worst of the worst sociopathic ants and if they start working together, one can only imagine the growth in picnic muggings and 8-armed sugar robberies.

  2. Colony? by Alomex · · Score: 4, Funny

    100km long colony of Argentine Ants in Melbourne.

    100km long???? That isn't an ant colony, that's the mother ship.

  3. It's gone GOLD! by numbski · · Score: 3, Funny

    Look! It's Microsoft Ant Farm 2004!

    New in this version:
    Uber-DRM Protection
    Ultimate Monopoly Powers
    Better Picnic Basket Raids
    Actual Murder of Competition

    Guaranteed 100% Bug-Free!

    --

    Karma: Chameleon (mostly due to the fact that you come and go).

  4. Queen? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    How many queen ants are in a nest like this?
    I hope they find one giant ant in the middle the size of a school bus.
    Then the battle begins.

  5. Since the "Overlord" reference is already used, by HotNeedleOfInquiry · · Score: 3, Funny

    May I suggest that that's a helluva Beowolf Cluster of ants.

    --
    "Eve of Destruction", it's not just for old hippies anymore...
  6. irrelevant babble by wildzeke · · Score: 3, Funny

    I have an aunt who lives in Australia. She doesn't like horned lizards very much.