Bonjour,
Voici un autre texte sur les fourmis, mais cette fois, sur «l'invasion» des Myrmica rubra (Car European fire ants) dans la grande région de Toronto.
Source : http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentSe...d=1152309009877
Fire ants on the march in the GTA
Jul. 8, 2006. 01:00 AM
GAIL SWAINSON
STAFF REPORTER
Richmond Hill is battling an invasion of European fire ants that is taking a big bite out of the fun of a summer picnic in the Doncrest Valley.
"They're not really aggressive, but it is still easy to get bit and it really stings," said Tracey Steele, a natural heritage co-ordinator with the town.
Residents started complaining last year after thousands of the people-munching creepy crawlies took up residence in the valley near Bayview Ave. and Highway 7. They have since spread to the grounds of a nearby condominium development.
The town laid out ant traps filled with boric acid in the valley, but there were far too many colonies to have any real effect.
Parks workers weren't even sure what they were battling until this spring when the ants were identified by the University of Guelph's Pest Diagnostic Clinic.
Although the ants are difficult to control on a large scale, Richmond Hill has initiated a strategy that includes traps and public education programs.
Steele said the ants, which are about a half-centimetre long, live underground or in decaying logs or piles of leaves. The tiny pest's painful sting is comparable to that of a blackfly but with an intense burning sensation.
Some people may experience an allergic reaction. The sting can also leave an angry red welt. There is no known repellent.
First found in the U.S. in the early 1900s, European fire ants have been steadily migrating northward from Maine.
Markham has experienced a smaller infiltration, though Steele says the bugs have likely taken up residence — or are poised to do so — right across the GTA. "They are relatively recent this far north, but there have been some reports of them elsewhere in Greater Toronto," Steele said.
Ann Marie Farrugia, another natural heritage specialist in Richmond Hill, confirmed a case of infiltration in Scarborough. She said they are unsure how the ants ended up in Ontario.
"It could've been anything that brought them up — potted plants, wood, or even on their own," she said. "People should think twice about bringing those things with them across borders."
Dr. Eleanor Groden, fire ant specialist at the University of Maine, said the local landscape is "saturated with them.
"We have complaints that people can't garden any more, the dog won't go outside and the kids can't play in the yard."
Wearing hiking boots and socks can help prevent stings. It's also unwise, experts advise, to sit on the ground.
with files from nasreen gulamhusein