Fire Ants Invading North Carolina Are
Described As Vicious And Destructive
, Just what kind of critter is
the Imported fire ant?
This question might be In the
minds of many people readlngor
hearing about the Imported fire
ant -- subject of an Intensive
eradication campaign about to
get underway In North Carolina.
C. H. Brannon, state entomo
logist of the North Carolina De
. partment of Agriculture, gives
this thumbnail sketch of the
imported fire anT
The imported fire ant is a na
tive of South America. It en
tered this country around 1918.
but because It closely resem
bled native fire ants (in looks)
it was not identified as a sepa
rate species umtil 1930.
Imported fire ants are small
in size. Worker ants vary from
one-eighth to one-fourth inch
long, but they make up for their
lack of size by their aggres
siveness and numbers.
As fighters, they have few
equals. They will bite and
sting anything that goes near
their mounds. On the attack
they sink their jaws into the
flesh, bring their abdomen for
ward and drive their stinger into
the skin injecting a poison. The
stings are painful and cause a
festering sore susceptible to in
fection. The stings are danger
ous to young children or per
sons allergic to the poison. One
mound may contain 100,000
ants?all ready and willing to
fight any intruder.
The anuts'mound building ha
bits are even more disconcert
ing than their stinging habits.
Other ants build mounds but they
are pikers compared to the im
ported fire ant. In heavily in
fested areas, 40 mounds per
acre are common. These
mounds vary in size up to about
18 inches. Since these mounds
are crusty and hard, they pose
a real problem during seeding,
fertilizing and harvesting.
Although the ants will build
mounds In almost any kind of
terrain, they prefer land
exposed to the sun. There
fore, some of the most valuable
farming and pasture land is us
ually hardest hit. Whenever
land Is cultivated only Intermit
tently, as in Improved pastures,
Imported fire ants Increase
rapidly. This Is especially lm
I portant in NorthCarollnawhere
| livestock production and dairy
ing represent a vital part of
the agricultural economy.
| Another strong suit of
j imported fire ants is their
adaptability. They can live on
a great variety of food including
cabbage, corn, collards, egg
plant, and potatoes, and they
can tolerate a wide range of
climatic conditions. For
example, at theGulfport, Miss.,
Imported Fire Ant Laboratory,
the ants have beenquick-frozen
and kept at below zero temp
erature for two hours, thawed
out and returned to below-zero
temperatures for another two
hours. After being thawed out
again, the ants were as frisky
as ever.
As practical evidence of their
adaptability, it might be worth
noting that the ants have already
spread east-to-west from
Morehead City, N. C., to San
Antonio, Texas, a distance of
about 1,250 air miles, and
they've moved all the wav south
to Miami, Florida. The ability
to spread quickly and widely is
the reason State and Federal
plant control officials are
anxious to clear up the state's
only large infestation in Car
teret and Craven Counties. The
eradication program in this
area is scheduled to start this
month.
Like most insects, imported
fire ants are well organized.
Divided into three forms: (1)
winged, fertile females
(queens); (2) winged, fer
tile males; and (3) worker ants
(sterile females), each group
carries out its own clearly de
fined duties. At mating time,
usually in the spring, queens
take to the air and mate with
fertile males. The queen re
turns to earth, sheds her now
worthless wings, digs a brood
chamber and goes to work lay
ing eggs. She also takes care
of the first brood.
Worker ants take care of later
broods, handle the fighting, and
move the colony whenever nec
essary. The winged males die
soon after fulfilling their one
function ? mating.
USDA Plant Pest Control
scientists, who have been fight
ing these ants since 1957, are
using the imported fire ants'
penchant for organization
against them. Only recently
these scientists devised a new
bait which has proved unusually
effective. The bait is com
posed of ground corncobs, soy
bean oil, and a small amount
of slow acting Insecticide. Be
cause of its delayed action, for
aging worker ants can carry
the bait into the colony and
feed the soybean oil to the queen
and larvae before the insecti
cide starts taking effect. If
it killed some of the ants quick
ly, the others would become
suspicious and leave the area
before getting a fatal dose of
the insecticide.
After the soybean oil (and
insecticide) Is removed from
the corncob grits, the worker
ants dutifully remove the grits
from the mound and stack them
In a neat pile.
After the soybean oil (am! |
insecticide) is removed from
the corncob grils, the worker
ants dutifully remove the grits
from the mound and stack them
in a neat pile. This enables
pest control workers to see how
well the ants are taking the bait.
And, as one final Ironic note,
plaiit pest control workers use
the ants' good housekeeping
practices to determine the ef
fectiveness of the bait. As
the ants die off, other ants
remove the bodies and place
them in an ant "bone-yard"
outside the mound.
Witnesses To Hold
Meet At Henderson
About 10 delegates from the
North Unit Congregation of Je
hovah's Witnesses herelnWar
renton will attend a three-day
circuit convention In Hender
son, Friday, Saturday, and Sun
day, May 1-3, according to a
statement made here by J. R.
Davis, local presiding minis
:er.
The meeting will be held at
:he Eaton Johnson School in
rienderson. More than 600 wit
lesses from 15 other cities are
jxpected.
Sessions will begin Friday,
Way 1, at 6:45 p. m. The
heme of this three-day confer
mce, sponsored by the Watch
ower Society, Is "Around the
Vorld with Jehovah's Wlt
lesses." The progress of the
:lrcult during the past six
months will be reviewed.
Saturday's program will in
dude baptismal arrangements
'or new witnesses and an in
spiring all-color free movie
vith scenes from Europe, Asia,
and the Holy Land. The title
5f the picture Is "Proclaiming
Everlasting Good News Around
he World."
The featured event of this
Henderson meeting will be a
jubllc discourse Sunday at 3:00
a. m. by the district super
visor, Willie Anderson on the
FIRE ANT MOUNDS?Along with having
many other bad characteristics, fire ants
caii outdo other ants In mound building.
Some of their mounds are ud to three
feet in height. This picture was taken in
the lower South where fire ants have been
a problem for many years.
il'SDA nhnfn*!
65 OR OVER?
We have full enrollment
information and
forms for
VIRGINIA
HEALTH tNSuf)ANC?
for peopte 65 or oof
% no medical ?lamination
? up to $10,000 in tifatfm* Major Medical benefits
? policies won't be cancelled because of
prolonged illness
Here is insurance protection that can help you keep
your independence. Virginia North Carolina 65 Health
Insurance is available exclusively to residents of Virginia
and North Carolina who are 65 or over, and to their
spouses regardless of age.
We will be happy to help you enroll. But ACT RIGHT
AWAY! Enrollment April 20 - May 20 only!
Wade R. Taylor
Til. 257-4532 Warrenton, N. C.
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WALKKR 9. BURWILL , 2 FOSTM THOMPSON
Negro
FARM AGENT
NEWS
LEONARD C. COOPER
Negro County Agent
G. W. KOONCE
Ant. Negro County Agent
Warren Capable Of
Larger Cuke Crop
Warren County Is nursing a
silent industry In the field of
cucumber production. With the
high demand for cukes In North
Carolina and the nation, there
is no reason why we cannot boost
our farm Income by a substan
tial amount from the produc
tlon of cukes.
All of us should plant and
fertilize this crop to ascertain
maximum yields. The State
average yield is 200 bushels per
acre. We can do better than
State this year. We have farm
ers grossing - $400.00 to $500.
00 per acre.
Two major production factors
for good yields are, fertilization
and harvesting. You must use
8-8-8 fertilizer at planting be
cause it has sulphate of potash,
and grain fertilizer carrying
nurlate of potash will not give
these cucumber plants the
desired potash nutrient when
It is most needed by the plant.
If you don't plant your cukes
by April 31, you're late and
consequently will be late for
harvesting. Cucumber produc
tion is a big and growing busi
ness in North Carolina. If
you don't plan to stay ahead Its
a known fact that you're not
only going to be left behind,
you're going to be put out of
cuke production, because there
are other counties that are go
ing to do the Job and do it
right.
subject, "Facing up to the
Urgency of Our Times." The
public is cordially invited to
attend all sessions, Davis said.
. . . .Marriage 1s the alliance
of two people one of whom never
remembers birthdays and the
other never forgets them.
Voter Registration Drive
Is Underway In Warren
The Warre n County Voters
Registration Project Is cur
rently conducting an extensive
campaign to get every quail
fled citizen In Warren, Vance
and Franklin counties register
ed by May 30, Mrs. Eva Clay
ton of Warrenton, co-chairman
of the project, said yesterday.
Serving with Mrs. Clayton as
co-chairman is Spencer Skipper
of Norlina. Mrs. Edna Wright
is secretary of the committee,
and Tom Basket Is treasurer.
The Voters' Registration
Committee, Mrs. Clayton said,
Is composed of representatives
from the NAACP, Multi-County
Civic Association, and other
civic and religious organiza
tions throughout the three
counties.
"The need for all citizens
to express themselves In a
representative government Is
vital to the democratic Ideal,"
Mrs. Clayton said. "Many cit
izens have not been conscience
of the Importance of voting and
participating fully In the poli
tical life of their community.
This voter Registration Project
is a non - partisan effort to
stimulate all citizens to function
fully as a citizen by register
ing and voting on all Issues and
candidates."
The Warren Voter Registra
tion Project will \\ork coopera
tively with the state program of
the NAACP and other civic or
ganizations that are interested
in voter-registration as a pro
ject. Mrs. Clayton said the drive
will include the following act
ivities:
(1) Workshops in churches
and homes In the 12 townships
of the county.
(2) Door-to-door canvasses
will be conducted by adult and
youth leaders to contact their
neighbors and friends about
registering.
(3) Distribution of voter-reg
istration Information and lit
erature throughout the county.
Headquarters for the project
has been set up on East Frank
lin Street In Warrenton on the
second floor of Brown's Build
ing. This office Is open dally
to assist anyone desiringln/or
matlon on registering and tor
parsons who are interested in
volunteering to help In this im
portant movement. All Interest
ed citizens are asked to help
make this registration drive
a big success.
The Voter Education Project
of Atlanta, Georgia has ex
pressed enthusiastic Interest
In the efforts of the Warren
County Project and Is expected
to make a grant to help finance
the registration efforts, Mrs.
Clayton said.
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