Why would ants want to make out in electrical stuff and scream in ecstacy when they bit off more than they can chew. Ok ok, so there are some speculations as to why this is happening, well not the making out part but the attraction to electrical stuff.
According to wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_imported_fire_ant
They are somehow attracted to electrical equipment and crawl into air conditioning units and the electrical wiring of stop lights, shorting them out. This is the leading cause of traffic light shorts in Texas, where the ants cause more than US$140 million in damage each year. Several ant species, including fire ants, have been shown to contain ferromagnetic nanoparticles that may contribute information about the geomagnetic field for orientation during foraging or migration.[3] However, it has not been found that electric or magnetic fields attract the ants.[4] Rather, when wandering ants cause electrical shorts, they attempt to sting the wire and produce powerful semiochemicals, including defensive and recruitment pheromones.[5] The chemical signals draw additional ants to the short. The only effective protection is to bar ants from the equipment physically or with insecticides.
According to Random guy in Yahoo answers
http://nz.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080317175812AAQdxp3
In a heavily fire ant infested region, one of the main problems occur in electrical transformers, switch boxes, electrical conduits and outlets, etc. Electricity flowing through a wire produces what is called “eddy currents”. This is an energy field surrounding the wire that carries the electricity. Ants are attracted to this environment to gain energy from the eddy currents. They will pack themselves into electrical boxes until they literally short the circuit out with electricity flowing through a mass of fire ants. This not only kills the ants but the short circuit will destroy the appliance that they are in. The fire ants will literally remove the insulation from the electrical connections.
According to News around the world
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas
/article3941545.ece.
Billions of electronic-eating 'crazy rasberry ants' invade Texas
It sounds like the plot of a farfetched science fiction movie. Unfortunately for the residents of Texas, it is very much a reality: billions of tiny reddish-brown ants have arrived onshore from a cargo ship and are hell-bent on eating anything electronic.
Computers, burglar alarm systems, gas and electricity meters, iPods, telephone exchanges – all are considered food by the flea-sized ants, for reasons that have left scientists baffled.
According to an article by Elsberry, Richard B
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3726/is_199709/ai_n8760991
Why are imported red fire ants attracted to electric fields? No one is yet ready to offer a theory. But biologist Dr. William P. MacKay of the University of Texas at El Paso and entomologist Professor S. Bradleigh Vinson of Texas A&M have succeeded in eliminating a number of possible factors.
They have found fire ant behavior does not correlate with a-c frequencies, or with the presence of ozone, electromagnetic or magnetic fields. Nor is the type of insulation used on wiring a factor. In tests up to 140V a-c and 350V d-c, both attracted almost the same number of ants at the same voltage and distance. However, they did find that when electricity was turned off, ants attracted to d-c power dispersed more rapidly than those who had been experiencing the nirvana of an a-c source.
While the Texas researchers still don't understand the reasons why the ants have a fatal attraction to electric fields, they have been able to devise successful control techniques. Based on their studies, they recommend using terminal cap protectors to prevent bridging, and denying entrance to the insects by enclosing mechanical relays in metal or plastic cases and sealing them, as well as all entrances to padmounted equipment, with epoxy cement. In laboratory tests, silicone rubber sealants and roofing cement proved ineffective.
MacKay and Vinson also recommend applying insecticide annually to the interior of electrical equipment cabinets. While 157 chemicals have been registered as fire ant controls, they have tested three commonly used insecticides: 1,1,1 Trichloroethane; a combination of pyrethrin, piperonyl butoxide, and silica gel; and chlorpyrifos.
According to wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_imported_fire_ant
They are somehow attracted to electrical equipment and crawl into air conditioning units and the electrical wiring of stop lights, shorting them out. This is the leading cause of traffic light shorts in Texas, where the ants cause more than US$140 million in damage each year. Several ant species, including fire ants, have been shown to contain ferromagnetic nanoparticles that may contribute information about the geomagnetic field for orientation during foraging or migration.[3] However, it has not been found that electric or magnetic fields attract the ants.[4] Rather, when wandering ants cause electrical shorts, they attempt to sting the wire and produce powerful semiochemicals, including defensive and recruitment pheromones.[5] The chemical signals draw additional ants to the short. The only effective protection is to bar ants from the equipment physically or with insecticides.
According to Random guy in Yahoo answers
http://nz.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080317175812AAQdxp3
In a heavily fire ant infested region, one of the main problems occur in electrical transformers, switch boxes, electrical conduits and outlets, etc. Electricity flowing through a wire produces what is called “eddy currents”. This is an energy field surrounding the wire that carries the electricity. Ants are attracted to this environment to gain energy from the eddy currents. They will pack themselves into electrical boxes until they literally short the circuit out with electricity flowing through a mass of fire ants. This not only kills the ants but the short circuit will destroy the appliance that they are in. The fire ants will literally remove the insulation from the electrical connections.
According to News around the world
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas
/article3941545.ece.
Billions of electronic-eating 'crazy rasberry ants' invade Texas
It sounds like the plot of a farfetched science fiction movie. Unfortunately for the residents of Texas, it is very much a reality: billions of tiny reddish-brown ants have arrived onshore from a cargo ship and are hell-bent on eating anything electronic.
Computers, burglar alarm systems, gas and electricity meters, iPods, telephone exchanges – all are considered food by the flea-sized ants, for reasons that have left scientists baffled.
According to an article by Elsberry, Richard B
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3726/is_199709/ai_n8760991
Why are imported red fire ants attracted to electric fields? No one is yet ready to offer a theory. But biologist Dr. William P. MacKay of the University of Texas at El Paso and entomologist Professor S. Bradleigh Vinson of Texas A&M have succeeded in eliminating a number of possible factors.
They have found fire ant behavior does not correlate with a-c frequencies, or with the presence of ozone, electromagnetic or magnetic fields. Nor is the type of insulation used on wiring a factor. In tests up to 140V a-c and 350V d-c, both attracted almost the same number of ants at the same voltage and distance. However, they did find that when electricity was turned off, ants attracted to d-c power dispersed more rapidly than those who had been experiencing the nirvana of an a-c source.
While the Texas researchers still don't understand the reasons why the ants have a fatal attraction to electric fields, they have been able to devise successful control techniques. Based on their studies, they recommend using terminal cap protectors to prevent bridging, and denying entrance to the insects by enclosing mechanical relays in metal or plastic cases and sealing them, as well as all entrances to padmounted equipment, with epoxy cement. In laboratory tests, silicone rubber sealants and roofing cement proved ineffective.
MacKay and Vinson also recommend applying insecticide annually to the interior of electrical equipment cabinets. While 157 chemicals have been registered as fire ant controls, they have tested three commonly used insecticides: 1,1,1 Trichloroethane; a combination of pyrethrin, piperonyl butoxide, and silica gel; and chlorpyrifos.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment