Sometime prior to 1950 a shipment of containerized plants from Europe arrived in Maine. Hitching a ride were the European red ant, Myrmica rubra. Also known thanks to its painful bite as the European fire ant, the wee beasties seemed content with their northeastern New England territory.
Unfortunately for Canada, in the new century they have travelled into Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario. In 2010 they had somehow made it to the West Coast, when they were reported from a North Vancouver home. Their spread there has continued. Early last month a garden centre in South Burnaby was found infested.
Despite its tag, M. rubra is native from Europe east across northern Asia. And the common name ‘fire ant’ is also confusing: it is but a very distant relation to the red imported fire ant Solenopsis invicta that originated in South America.
However it is fierce fighter, swarming over any and all who dare invade its territory. Taking up residence in a back yard results in the exclusion of children and pets. Mowing and other maintenance may require wearing rubber boots.
Inhabitants of the Old World have learnt to live with their feisty neighbours. Unlike here in North America, natural controls seem to keep it somewhat in check. If that fails, several kettles of boiling water eliminates their nests. Of course one can always depend on those of the scepter’d isle to find an alternative solution. In days gone by, rosy-cheeked English schoolgirls were wont to proclaim:
What do you do when you need a loo in an English country garden?
You pull down your pants and suffocate the ants in an English country garden.
It was enough to make your ants cry uncle.
But leave it to an observer from the New World to query hymenoptera wisdom. “If ants are so busy, why do they attend so many picnics?” inquired W. C. Fields.
Wes Porter is a horticultural consultant and writer based in Toronto. Wes has over 40 years of experience in both temperate and tropical horticulture from three continents.
