Talk:Lasius neglectus

why electricity?

These ants have been in the news in the UK recently, with claims that they're somehow "attracted" to electricity. What none of the news stories seem to do however is explain exactly *why* this is the case. Does anyone know why? If anyone does this information should certainly be added to this page. --86.135.218.177 (talk) 12:08, 2 August 2009 (UTC)

This article says researchers don't know (or at least didn't 12 years ago, when it was written); it also discounts suspected reasons, saying "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." -- Finlay McWalter • Talk 13:53, 2 August 2009 (UTC)

Note that article is about Solenopsis invicta - not this species of ant. It is interesting that they are also attracted to electricity too though. Smartse (talk) 18:16, 2 August 2009 (UTC)

Should make a good non-toxic control measure though ????? Chevin (talk) 17:05, 2 August 2009 (UTC)

I suspect it may just be to heat - ants need quite high temperatures to nest and this would be the case especially if the ants are usually from warmer climates than the UK. This is entirely guesswork but it seem the most likely explanation to me. The most recent paper on them doesn't suggest any reasons why. As there isn't any evidence to say why it is we can't really put anything in the article though. Smartse (talk) 18:12, 2 August 2009 (UTC)