MikeInTN said:
Thankfully they haven't made their way this far north yet, but it's just a matter of time. I actually saw my first ant mound a month or so ago while I was in Jackson, MS for work. The mound had a dead mockingbird lying on top of it - figured the mockingbird tried to eat some ants, and ended up the main course itself.
Yeah Mike, enjoy it while it lasts. Once they get there, you will long for the old days of being ant-free.
It's sad, on our ranch property, we used to have tons of quail and horned lizards. About 5 years ago, I began seeing the fire ants out there at about the same time that I saw the quail and horned lizard populations waning. I can only surmise that these are directly related. With quail being ground nesting birds, it would only make sense that they would suffer. Horned lizards exist on a diet of harvester ants. A biologist told me that they can't handle the venom from the fire ant though and that it kills them. Breaks my heart.