Sarasota News Leader
February 22, 2013
Page 68
track the nesting of the endangered snowy
plovers on Siesta Key, they said.
���We are starting to lose a fair number of
[snowy plover nests] to fire ants��� each year,
Luckner explained. The ants will bite into the
eggs with their saw-like jaws and suck the
eggs dry.
Moreover, Luckner pointed out, the fire ants
will attack a chick that is lying in a nest, drying out after it has hatched, ���and it���s an ugly
death.���
���We���re losing at least 10 percent of the nests
every year to this kind of thing,��� Luckner added.
Mote Marine Laboratory has recorded the loss
of some turtle eggs to fire ants, Luckner said.
Allan Worms/Photo by Rachel Hackney
The red marker shows the location of Tivoli by the Sea in relation to the Gulf of Mexico on Siesta
Key. Map courtesy Google Maps
