Soil-dwelling ants are at risk of pathogen infection so when choosing nesting sites, so new ant queens reduce this risk by avoiding contact with certain pathogens. They select safe nesting sites by detecting odors formed by dirt bacteria that prevent the growth of ant-infecting fungi, this is the first time that this been found to affect the nesting location of newly mated queens. Perhaps this will help with planning to change soil microbiota of invasive ants, where its rapid spread has caused economic and ecological issues.
https://gogreenpestcontrol.ca/new-ant-queens-a…to-soil-microbes/
gogreenpestcontrol.ca insectandrodentexterminators.com Delta Ladner Tsawwassen B.C., Randy Bilesky BsF CPA RPF
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/new-ant-queens-attracted-soil-microbes-randy-bilesky/?