NOVA CONTROL, PEST CONTROL COMPANY IN IBIZA AND FORMENTERA.
Sometimes, people are surprised when a dry branch of a tree, an old stump or even wooden structural elements, such as beams and columns, contain inside them anthills, as well as an extensive network of galleries full of ants. In fact, among the hundreds of species of ants that we can find throughout our lives, there are several species with life habits linked to wood. The most significant are the so-called carpenter ants, i.e. those belonging to the genus Camponotus; and among the ants belonging to the genus Crematogaster, the poorly named carpenter ant: Crematogaster scutellaris.
Crematogaster scutellaris nest on a dry branch of a hornwort tree.
In this entry, we are going to focus on this species, taking advantage of the images taken during a case of this privamera, and as it is logical, with the change of seasonal cycle winter-spring, the insects begin to activate in a remarkable way (although the latter with the permission of the almost spring-like weather that we have had this ‘non winter’ in the Pitiusas, where rain and cold, rather have been conspicuous by their absence). In any case, let's take a look at some interesting features of this species, both to become more familiar with its behaviour and its general appearance for a correct identification. Although it builds its nests in wood, as indicated above, it does not feed on it, i.e. the damage it causes to the wood is produced to enlarge the galleries needed by the colony, but not by a process of wood digestion, as occurs with woodworm or termites.
The diet of Crematogaster scutellaris is based mainly on other insects (adults and larvae), and to a lesser extent, on their eggs. In this sense, it is considered that it can play a relevant role as an indirect biological controller of the pine processionary (Thaumetopoena pityocampa), not so much by direct predation of its larvae and adults, but by the desquamation that they exert on the eggs of this conflictive lepidopteran. In practice, this desquamation leaves the eggs unprotected against pathogens and other predators that are unable to break the outer casing. Therefore, as with so many other insects that surround us but affect us as pests in a harmful way when they multiply in our living environment, Crematogaster scutellaris plays an important role in the natural balance of ecosystems.
In terms of appearance and behaviour, they have a marked bicoloured body, where the head is red and the rest of the body is black. Another feature that is quite useful to differentiate them from other species that might have a similar colouring is their gaster (abdomen), which has a characteristic shape given by the narrowing it has as it reaches its final end, which ends in a point. This is very visible when the anthill is disturbed: it is a species that tends to be quite aggressive when it detects a threat. Through the secretion of hormones, they emit a warning that translates into a massive attack by the colony on the object causing the threat, which will soon be overwhelmed by a mass of ants with their ‘spiky’ abdomens pointing upwards, while using their mandibles as defensive weapons: a fascinating species indeed!
The treatment that we at Nova Control apply to this pest is usually similar to that of other species of ants, that is, based on insecticide baits of different types (gels, granules...) without affecting people or pets, but with the particularity that in this case, as it is very likely that we will have access to the nest, it is recommended to remove or restore the affected area, to avoid accidental breakage due to the deterioration generated by the activity of the anthill, until the time of its eradication.
Text and photographs: own elaboration.
Find out more:
- https://novacontrol.es/en/pest-control/ants
- https://novacontrol.es/en/works-and-data-of-interest/pest-control-in-ibiza-and-formentera-ants
- https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crematogaster_scutellaris
-https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camponotus#:~:text=Las%20hormigas%20carpinteras%20u%20%22hormigas,medida%20que%20crece%20la%20colonia.
-https://www.mapa.gob.es/ministerio/pags/biblioteca/revistas/pdf_plagas/BSVP-30-04-699-701.pdf
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