How many of us really remember the childhood story of ‘The Ant and The Grasshopper’! It did not just teach us life lessons on hard work and resource conservation for tough times but opened our eyes to the significance of ants in our ecosystem. Once a crucial part of our lives, ants are all but gone.
Rapid urbanisation coupled with frenetic pace of concretisation has taken away their habitat, leading to decline of many ant species. It is not just the Sphecomyrma ants that became extinct millions of years ago, many other species were lost in the last decade.
That is not all, the species which played a silent, yet crucial role, in ensuring soil fertility, is now gone without anyone even noticing. (We do not even remember the species when breaking lines and not following lane discipline while driving, something which ants closely follow-- the reason why ants were used as brand ambassadors by the traffic police departments in many cities.)
Experts point out that while some ant species have survived the tough change of times and adapted to new surroundings, others have declined. They also noted that many invasive ant species have increased over time which are of little or no service to the ecosystem.
Noted ant expert Sunil Kumar says that ant species like Jumping Ants (Myrmecia pilosula), Blind Ants (Dorylus) and Shield Ants (Meranoplus) have become very hard to find. Similar is the case with Razorjaw Ants (Leptogenys), Jaw-trap Ants (Anochetus) and Asian Bullet Ants (Diacamma) which have now extremely rare these days.
“Their place has been taken over by other species like Fire Ants, Black Crazy Ants and other carnivore hunting ants. Though, they also help clear dead and decaying matter and keep the environment clean. But the concern is that they do not let any other species survive. Thus, diversity is lost. The species that have been replaced, in fact, needed special conditions and natural environments to survive which are now being lost,” he said.
Explaining the role of these tiny creatures, Kumar said, every species has a role in the environment. Studies have shown that ants are needed even in urban ecosystems. Some species are adapting to their new surroundings, like making space through cracks in walls, kitchen shelves tiles and slabs and other such places. Studies have shown that in urban areas alone, over 110 ant species were found but in the last decade, the species and population count has dropped to 40 per cent.
Experts said, some ant species continue to hold on and survive in the small urban lung spaces but with dwindling plant species has impacted the species diversity. The city corporations, district administrations and forest departments should concentrate on planting varieties of plants and trees, particularly nectaring species whereas government agencies are clearing natural forests to create tree parks and stress is laid on planting hardy species rather than resourceful indigenous species, they said.
Dr AK Chakravarthy, noted insect expert and principal investigator at Environmental Management and Policy Research Institute (EMPRI), said wherever natural pastures exist, ants survive and multiply. The species is declining, the campuses to house them are also declining. “But if you create an undisturbed natural vegetation, the ant species can be brought back. Thus habitat protection and maintaining diversity is crucial,” he said.
However, aggressive species like Fire Ants, also called Army Ants are adaptive and like invasive weeds; they do not let anything else survive. Similar is the case with Yellow Crazy Ants. These notorious species’ highly adaptive nature fuels displacement of other species. So is the case with Carpenter Ants which people now find commonly in their homes. They are adapting to the changing ecological conditions but are exploiting dry wood, Chakravarthy said and added: “This displacement of ant species needs to be curtailed. Invasive species should not be encouraged. The present deteriorating soil condition is another factor for decline in species which immediately needs to be addressed for healthy crops.”
Citing the examples of important green spaces in Bengaluru which also have historical importance like Lal Bagh, Cubbon Park, Indian Institute of Science campus, Nandi Hills and Gandhi Krishi Vignan Kendra, he said, these places recorded 22, 28, 24, 23 and 28 species, respectively in 2008. Now the species have dwindled because of increased human interference, use of chemicals, decline in diversity, increase in concrete cover and poor natural soil fertility. Experts say that in forest dwelling and traditional Indian communities, however, all efforts are being done to protect ant species for it forms an essential part of their diet. This includes the Camponotus and Melophorus species.
