von Necturus » 26. Aug 2007 21:05
Sorry to dampen the spirits, but Solenopsis invicta is one of the most dangerous ants to keep. I'm not even refering to possible dangers to the keeper- i'm refering to the fact that Solenopsis invicta is present all over the world, and produces costs of several hundreds of million dollars(!) in the attempt to fight them back from the invaded areas, in which only very few groundliving species of the natural population remain. If they where ever to get out, there's the possibility they will establish themselves in europe and cause the same kind of damage here. Of course chances might be slim and there are climatic differences. But it happend a lot of times before, for example with Monomorium pharaonis, with most likely no chances to ever get rid of them again- they survive by adapting to heated areas, which are plenty even in winter in industrial times.
So please guys, be smart - don't keep invasive or "incestous" species. There are lots of "cool" species around. Picking the dangerous ones won't get anything else then a shaking head from any decent antkeeper.
Greetings,
Necturus