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U.S. Department of Energy
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Electric ants: A cross-disciplinary approach to understanding insect behavior

Conference ·
OSTI ID:501748
 [1]; ;  [2]
  1. Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)
  2. Texas Tech Univ., Lubbock, TX (United States)
The response and attraction of the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, to electrical equipment was examined using an interdisciplinary approach. Entomologists specializing in fire ant behavior combined expertise with electrical engineers to investigate the economically damaging interaction of fire ants with electrical circuitry. Knowledge from the realms of physics, engineering, and biology were integrated in experimentation to test for a fire ant response to electric fields and magnetic fields associated with electrical equipment. It was determined that fire ants react to electrified conductive material and the alternating-current magnetic fields associated with electricity.
OSTI ID:
501748
Report Number(s):
CONF-961239--
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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