tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/yellow-crazy-ants-68975/articlesYellow crazy ants – The Conversation2023-06-29T02:43:35Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2084792023-06-29T02:43:35Z2023-06-29T02:43:35ZWhy red fire ants and yellow crazy ants have given themselves a green light to invade Australia<p>Two of the worst ant pests on the planet are invading Australia. <a href="https://www.outbreak.gov.au/current-outbreaks/red-imported-fire-ant">Red imported fire ants</a> have been detected for the first time on the western side of the Great Dividing Range <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-13/red-fire-ants-detected-in-toowoomba/102471816">in Toowoomba</a>, Queensland. <a href="https://www.csiro.au/en/research/animals/pests/yellow-crazy-ants">Yellow crazy ants</a> recently reached <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2023-06-11/another-crazy-yellow-ant-infestation-confirmed-in-whitsundays/102455994">the Whitsundays</a>.</p>
<p>The yellow crazy ant (<em>Anoplolepis gracilipes</em>) ranks among the world’s <a href="http://www.iucngisd.org/gisd/100_worst.php">100 worst animal pests</a> because of its impacts on <a href="https://www.csiro.au/en/research/animals/pests/yellow-crazy-ants">agriculture and biodiversity</a>. The red imported fire ant (<em>Solenopsis invicta</em>) poses <a href="https://www.fireants.org.au/dangers/impacts">similar threats</a>, and is also one of the world’s most dangerous ants. Its intensely painful stings, which give the ant its name, <a href="https://www.fireants.org.au/dangers/impacts/health-impacts">can kill people</a>.</p>
<p>The prospects of total eradication of these ants in Australia are poor. Both species are highly adaptable and colonies need to be detected and eradicated early to contain them. Eradication efforts face other several challenges, including:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2021-06-08/australia-biosecurity-slammed-in-auditor-general-report/100179624">inadequate biosecurity resources</a> for checking incoming cargo</li>
<li>the need for the public to maintain constant vigilance</li>
<li>spread from built-up urban areas into bushland that’s much harder to monitor</li>
<li>other pressing issues, such as the housing crisis, demand attention and resources, crowding out threats from insects. </li>
</ul>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WMY6mzrf1I8?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Red imported fire ants are a threat to people, biodiversity and agriculture.</span></figcaption>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/eradicating-fire-ants-is-still-possible-but-we-have-to-choose-now-70199">Eradicating fire ants is still possible, but we have to choose now</a>
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<h2>Where did the crazy ants come from?</h2>
<p>The origin of yellow crazy ants is disputed but is likely in South-East Asia or Africa. Workers are yellowish orange, medium-sized (around 4-5mm) and have long legs and antennae. They run rapidly in a seemingly random fashion, hence their name.</p>
<p>Workers and queens have a small funnel on their gasters (the bulbous end of their bodies) from which they can spray formic acid. It can burn human skin and is lethal for other ants and many native arthropods. Small animals such as lizards and bird chicks are at risk of being blinded or eaten.</p>
<p>These ants have spread to much of South-East Asia, parts of central America and the United States. They can be found indoors in the United Kingdom and a handful of European nations. </p>
<p>Since reaching the Australian territory of Christmas Island, yellow crazy ants have devastated the native wildlife. They killed <a href="https://www.csiro.au/en/research/animals/pests/yellow-crazy-ants">up to 20 million</a> of the famous red land crabs, causing major changes in the rainforest. </p>
<p>On the mainland, this species has reached the Northern Territory and Queensland, where it is most entrenched, having been discovered in Cairns in 2001. As well as spreading to Hervey Bay, Townsville and other coastal sites, the ant is now in Brisbane.</p>
<p>Brisbane City launched an <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-09-12/yellow-crazy-ant-risk-low-to-high-brisbane-city-council/101396552">eradication plan</a> in 2022. Control measures include baiting using a fishmeal-based ant attractant combined with an insecticide. However, recently reported infestations in the Whitsundays and elsewhere suggest eradication will be difficult.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ant-invasion-how-pets-become-pests-157661">Ant invasion: How pets become pests</a>
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<p>Northern Territory authorities have had more success. Some <a href="https://www.csiro.au/en/research/animals/pests/yellow-crazy-ants">26 locations</a> covering nearly 300 hectares of Indigenous land have been freed of the pest.</p>
<p>The prospects of total eradication of yellow crazy ants in Australia are not promising. Like other serious ant pests, this species can form “super-colonies” with multiple queens, eats a wide variety of foods and readily colonises both exotic and native environments. </p>
<p>Such species are often only eradicated if their presence is detected before they become established. For eradication programs to succeed, local councils need landholders’ full support, plus adequate federal and state funding. Late last year the federal government <a href="https://minister.dcceew.gov.au/node/2511">provided another A$24.8 million</a>, so there is some hope.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/invasive-ants-federal-budget-takes-aim-but-will-it-be-a-lethal-shot-114818">Invasive ants: federal budget takes aim but will it be a lethal shot?</a>
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<h2>And what about the fire ants?</h2>
<p>The red imported fire ant differs from the yellow crazy ant in having two waist segments (instead of one) and a powerful sting. The workers vary in size between 2.5mm and 6mm. They are reddish or yellowish with a darker gaster. </p>
<p>The fire ants are less distinctive than the crazy ants. They look like some small native ants in the genera <em>Monomorium</em> and <em>Chelaner</em>. However, their <a href="https://ipm.ucanr.edu/TOOLS/ANTKEY/countanten.html">antennal clubs</a> have two segments, while these native ants have three segments. </p>
<p>Another introduced <em>Solenopsis</em> species, <em>S. geminata</em>, looks even more similar. They are distinguished by the teeth on the mandible, or jaws: the red imported fire ant has four teeth and the other species has three. The nest mound of <em>S. invicta</em> is distinctive without any obvious nest entrance.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534722/original/file-20230629-21-jbymfg.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="The red earth nest mound of red imported fire ants" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534722/original/file-20230629-21-jbymfg.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534722/original/file-20230629-21-jbymfg.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534722/original/file-20230629-21-jbymfg.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534722/original/file-20230629-21-jbymfg.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534722/original/file-20230629-21-jbymfg.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534722/original/file-20230629-21-jbymfg.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534722/original/file-20230629-21-jbymfg.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A red imported fire ant nest mound features no obvious entrance hole.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/131104726@N02/16371103174/">Alex Wild/University of Texas</a></span>
</figcaption>
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<p>Native to South America, red imported fire ants have spread to the southern US, the South American tropics, the Caribbean, China and some Pacific Islands. Indoor infestations have been reported in Finland and Canada. </p>
<p>In Australia this species has become established in south-east Queensland. Small incursions have been <a href="https://www.outbreak.gov.au/current-outbreaks/red-imported-fire-ant">eradicated</a> in Port Botany, New South Wales, and, more recently, Fremantle, Western Australia. </p>
<p>In the US, fire ant stings have caused <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2760357/">scores of human deaths</a> due to anaphylaxis, or allergic shock. The stings cause small pustules on the skin, which can lead to infection or tissue death.</p>
<p>Fire ant stings also kill or injure domestic animals and livestock, and can cause serious economic loss. Like the yellow crazy ant, this species will <a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/invasive-species/insects-and-other-invertebrates/tramp-ants/red-imported-fire">protect disease-carrying plant bugs</a> that produce <a href="https://www.discoverwildlife.com/animal-facts/insects-invertebrates/honeydew/">honeydew</a>. The ants will attack anything that threatens their food source and so help the bug population grow. </p>
<p>The ants also <a href="https://www.agriculture.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/Strategic%20Review%20of%20the%20National%20Red%20Imported%20Fire%20Ant%20Eradication%20Program%20August%202021.pdf">damage many crops</a> themselves and destroy honey bees in their hives. They may nest in electrical utility boxes, <a href="https://www.agriculture.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/Strategic%20Review%20of%20the%20National%20Red%20Imported%20Fire%20Ant%20Eradication%20Program%20August%202021.pdf">causing outages</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/cannibalism-helps-fire-ants-invade-new-territory-113752">Cannibalism helps fire ants invade new territory</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Spreading corn bait laced with insecticide is the main means of control. Insecticide or steam can also be injected into nests.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, red imported fire ants were only identified in Brisbane in 2001, some years after the estimated date of the first arrivals. These ants likely came from the US. Despite successful <a href="https://www.outbreak.gov.au/current-outbreaks/red-imported-fire-ant">eradications</a> at sites including the Port of Brisbane and a separate incursion in central Queensland, the Brisbane outbreak has not been controlled. </p>
<p>The prognosis for controlling this pest is grim. It has super-colonies like the crazy ant and is equally adaptable in terms of food, nest sites and multiple queens (in some, but not all colonies). On top of that, identification and detection are more difficult.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/208479/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brian Heterick does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The two pest ant species have huge impacts on the areas they invade. The fire ants can even kill people. Unfortunately, these ants will be hard to eliminate.Brian Heterick, Adjunct Research Associate, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1584262021-04-20T20:09:48Z2021-04-20T20:09:48ZTiny Game of Thrones: the workers of yellow crazy ants can act like lazy wannabe queens. So we watched them fight<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/395945/original/file-20210420-19-1k7ptd6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=538%2C0%2C3455%2C2000&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wes Mountain/The Conversation</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The invasive ant world is a competitive one, rife with territorial battles and colony raids. And yellow crazy ants (<em>Anoplolepis gracilipes</em>), one of the world’s <a href="http://www.iucngisd.org/gisd/100_worst.php">worst invasive species</a>, have an especially interesting trait: they’re the only invasive ant known to have <a href="https://frontiersinzoology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12983-017-0210-4">workers who can reproduce</a>.</p>
<p>Worker reproduction has <a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/415930">big implications</a> for a colony’s social dynamic. So we observed and <a href="https://frontiersinzoology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12983-021-00392-2">experimented with</a> more than 200 captive colonies of yellow crazy ants to understand what triggers worker reproduction and the potential costs and benefits for the colony. </p>
<p>We used a range of techniques, including removing queens and observing worker behaviour, and setting up ant gladiator rings to test how well reproductive workers fought other ants. </p>
<p>It wasn’t just for fun — learning about ants’ basic biology, including reproduction, may allow us to better understand their success and tailor management programs to <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/cd1170d3-7e62-4340-b0d1-c366e495e238/files/invasive-ant-biosecurity-2019.pdf">help save the ecosystems they threaten</a>.</p>
<h2>Life in the queendom</h2>
<p>Yellow crazy ants are thought to originate in southern or southeastern Asia but <a href="https://antmaps.org/?mode=species&species=Anoplolepis.gracilipes">have spread across</a> much of the Indo-Pacific, including several locations in Australia. They’re most well known for the cascade of <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1046/j.1461-0248.2003.00512.x">ecological effects</a> they’ve caused on Christmas Island by killing red land crabs and contributing to the damage, such as tree die-back, caused by scale insects. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.wettropics.gov.au/our-battle-plan">Attempts to control or locally eradicate them</a> are ongoing on Christmas Island, in Arnhem Land, and several locations in Queensland, including in and around the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/swAyy_jPD8o?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Yellow crazy ants, accidentally introduced by cargo ships, and subsequently multiplying to number in the billions, threaten the yearly crab migration on Christmas Island.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Like honey bees and wasps, yellow crazy ants are social insects. In these colonies, queens, workers and males all play distinct roles.</p>
<p>Queens and workers are all females. The queens reproduce, while the aptly named workers are the colony’s labourers, primarily responsible for bringing in food, caring for the queens’ offspring and defending the colony. The sole role of males is to mate with a queen before dying. </p>
<p>This elaborate task division is thought key to the success of social insects. However, in yellow crazy ant colonies, workers challenge the reproductive monopoly of the queen and produce males. </p>
<p>We could differentiate workers with active ovaries from regular workers by looking at their abdomen, which would be oversized as eggs take up space in the larger workers’ abdomen.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/395413/original/file-20210416-15-1a9ng46.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Five yellow crazy ants, four of which have large abdomens" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/395413/original/file-20210416-15-1a9ng46.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/395413/original/file-20210416-15-1a9ng46.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395413/original/file-20210416-15-1a9ng46.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395413/original/file-20210416-15-1a9ng46.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395413/original/file-20210416-15-1a9ng46.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395413/original/file-20210416-15-1a9ng46.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395413/original/file-20210416-15-1a9ng46.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In this picture, the worker ant on the far right has a regular-sized abdomen while the other workers have abdomen that looks swollen.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dr Peter Yeeles</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When the queen was present, typically less than 20% of workers in our captive colonies had oversized abdomens. When we removed the queen, as much as half of the workers became oversized. We returned the queen after two months, and found the number of oversized workers decreased. </p>
<p>Our findings are consistent with the idea queens inhibit worker reproduction through pheromones, one of many chemical signals in ant colonies influencing ant worker behaviour and colony dynamics. Indeed, an ant queen’s failure to “smell” fertile may leave her <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ece3.7173">subject to eviction or execution</a>.</p>
<h2>More lazy than crazy</h2>
<p>So, did our yellow crazy ant queen wannabes behave more like workers or royalty? <a href="https://frontiersinzoology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12983-021-00392-2">Our observations</a> of oversized and normal workers revealed stark differences in behaviour. </p>
<p>Regular workers foraged during 85% of observations, whereas oversized workers were seen looking for food in only 5% of observations. Most of the time, oversized workers were immobile and remained sheltered inside their nests. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/395931/original/file-20210420-17-dxcyuw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Three yellow crazy ants" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/395931/original/file-20210420-17-dxcyuw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/395931/original/file-20210420-17-dxcyuw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395931/original/file-20210420-17-dxcyuw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395931/original/file-20210420-17-dxcyuw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395931/original/file-20210420-17-dxcyuw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395931/original/file-20210420-17-dxcyuw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395931/original/file-20210420-17-dxcyuw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Regular-sized workers are territorial and aggressive.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Peter Yeeles</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>These oversized workers are slow to move when the nests are disturbed, not displaying the fast, erratic movement for which the species is named. Their behaviour was more similar to queens than workers. </p>
<p>Colony and resource defence is another important task for workers, as yellow crazy ant colonies often compete with native ants.</p>
<p>To test how these sluggish workers compare to normal workers in colony defence, we placed three oversized workers in one container, three regular workers in another, and paired each group with one gladiator, the charismatic green tree ant. </p>
<p>Green tree ants (<em>Oecophylla smaragdina</em>) are native and known for being very aggressive and territorial. </p>
<p>Our two videos show the typical response of oversized and regular workers. </p>
<p>In the first video, each encounter between a yellow crazy ant and green tree ant ends with the green tree ant rapidly retreating, often after having her legs bitten and pulled by the yellow crazy ant. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RyOwB7o92Vs?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
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<p>In the second video, you can see how oversized workers were more sedentary, less aggressive and less likely to start fighting with the green tree ant than normal workers in the first video. They were also less likely to kill their oppon-ant. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/38aE8H4GrJA?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
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<p>It seems oversized workers are lazy and would be ineffective at defending the colony. So why do they occur at all?</p>
<h2>Like walking vending machines</h2>
<p>Generally, ant colonies need workers to function and only the queen can produce this caste. In the ant world, the death of the queen signifies the death of the colony. </p>
<p>However, if the queen dies after laying eggs, including one destined to become a queen, then the virgin queen who eventually emerges can mate with a worker-produced male. This is important because males are unlikely to be present unless the colony is very large.</p>
<p>So while workers lack organs for receiving and storing sperm, their ability to produce males asexually may extend the life of the colony. </p>
<p>What’s more, oversized workers can produce sterile eggs as well, which <a href="https://frontiersinzoology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12983-017-0210-4">serve as food</a> for the queen and other colony members. We believe these workers may be like walking vending machines within the colony, providing food when conditions aren’t suitable for foraging.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/395889/original/file-20210420-21-orexxu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A male yellow crazy ant with one female eye and one male eye." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/395889/original/file-20210420-21-orexxu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/395889/original/file-20210420-21-orexxu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=616&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395889/original/file-20210420-21-orexxu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=616&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395889/original/file-20210420-21-orexxu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=616&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395889/original/file-20210420-21-orexxu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=774&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395889/original/file-20210420-21-orexxu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=774&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395889/original/file-20210420-21-orexxu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=774&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A male yellow crazy ant with one female eye and one male eye.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Pauline Lenancker</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We also found males with mismatched eyes. These odd-looking individuals may possess a female eye on one side and a smaller male eye on the other side. </p>
<p>Such individuals are potentially sex mosaics, with male and female genes spread across their body in patches. Whether these individuals function as normal males is a question for further research.</p>
<h2>What’s next?</h2>
<p>Researchers don’t know the full story of yellow crazy ant reproduction, but it’s likely to be highly complex and potentially unique. Our study contributes to solving this mystery. </p>
<p>Eradication and control programs for yellow crazy ants will benefit from understanding their reproductive system and behaviour. It can shed light on how even a few workers and eggs — who may be inadvertently moved around by humans or persist after control treatment — could eventually build into large numbers.</p>
<p>Likewise, understanding foraging behaviour is useful for planning insecticidal baiting, because effective baiting relies on foraging ants bringing bait back to the colony to share with queens and larvae. </p>
<p>We have no doubt future genetic work and experiments will shed further light on the fascinating reproductive biology of yellow crazy ants.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/bridges-highways-scaffolds-how-the-amazing-engineering-of-army-ants-can-teach-us-to-build-better-158326">Bridges, highways, scaffolds: how the amazing engineering of army ants can teach us to build better</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/158426/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Pauline Lenancker has received funding from the Skyrail Rainforest Foundation and the Ecological Society of Australia through the Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment and Student Research Award.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lori Lach receives funding from the Australian Research Council, the Wet Tropics Management Authority, and the Department of Agriculture, Water, and the Environment. She has previously received funding from Kuranda Envirocare. She is a member of the National Exotic Invasive Ant Scientific Advisory Group. </span></em></p>Yellow crazy ants are one of the world’s worst invasive species. And it turns out they have unique systems of reproduction that make life in the queendom more complicated than we realised.Pauline Lenancker, Research scientist, James Cook UniversityLori Lach, Associate Professor, James Cook UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1576612021-03-28T13:39:18Z2021-03-28T13:39:18ZAnt invasion: How pets become pests<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391949/original/file-20210326-21-nhpyhk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1022%2C680&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The European fire ant, Myrmica rubra, is one of the invasive ant species in Ontario. They are known for their painful sting. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Jon Sanders)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>When I was a teenager, I volunteered in the rainforest exhibit at an aquarium. A few times a week, we’d get a phone call from someone looking to donate a pet that they could no longer care for. Mostly turtles and frogs. The occasional parrot. Once, a retired dancer wanted to find a new home for two boa constrictors that had been part of her act. </p>
<p>But the aquarium could not take all the animals it was offered, and I often wondered what happened to all those unwanted pets. Many likely found new homes, but some were probably released into local parks or ponds, unfortunately.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391950/original/file-20210326-19-1noas4c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two men walk through a wooded area carrying a long python over their shoulders." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391950/original/file-20210326-19-1noas4c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391950/original/file-20210326-19-1noas4c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391950/original/file-20210326-19-1noas4c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391950/original/file-20210326-19-1noas4c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391950/original/file-20210326-19-1noas4c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391950/original/file-20210326-19-1noas4c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391950/original/file-20210326-19-1noas4c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This four-metre, 43-kilogram female Burmese python was discovered a couple of metres from an upscale housing development in Naples, Fla. Most experts believe released pet pythons established a breeding population in the mid-1990s.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A recent study by researchers at the University of Lausanne <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2016337118">warns that the pet trade is contributing to the spread of invasive species around the globe</a>. The study, published in the <em>Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)</em>, found that traded pets are often invasive species, meaning they establish natural populations in new places. </p>
<p>These pets are not just larger animals that are sometimes released in the wild when they outgrow their cages, like <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/snakes-ate-florida-180972534/">the Burmese pythons that have invaded the Florida Everglades</a>, but even a relatively new and apartment-friendly pet: ants. </p>
<h2>Ants are popular pets</h2>
<p>I study ants, which makes me a myrmecologist, and I sometimes keep live ant colonies for research purposes in my lab. At one point, I had nearly 100 live ant colonies for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.13310">a study comparing invasive and native ants as seed dispersers</a>.</p>
<p>I collect wild ant queens and workers from a <a href="http://ksr.utoronto.ca/">biological station</a> near me and house them in test tubes, which I wrap in tin foil and partially fill with wet cotton. This keeps the test tubes moist and dark, and usually the queen and her workers will move right in. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A test tube holding ants and sealed with cotton balls." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391953/original/file-20210326-25-hbxn4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391953/original/file-20210326-25-hbxn4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391953/original/file-20210326-25-hbxn4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391953/original/file-20210326-25-hbxn4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391953/original/file-20210326-25-hbxn4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391953/original/file-20210326-25-hbxn4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391953/original/file-20210326-25-hbxn4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A queen ant and others in an ant farm starter test tube.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Because ants are easy to care for and downright fascinating to watch, they are growing rapidly in popularity as pets. According to the <em>PNAS</em> study, at least 65 websites now sell and ship ants all over the world. </p>
<p>As a myrmecologist, I am thrilled that others are finding joy in ants. Ants have complex social lives, play important roles in ecosystems and are capable of truly remarkable things. </p>
<p>Some ants join their bodies together into <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1016658108">floating rafts</a> or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1512241112">bridges</a> to cross water or other obstacles. Others are clever enough to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.85.14.5287">figure out and remember the most direct route home</a>. </p>
<p>One of the ant species that I study <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/437495a">creates enormous gardens of its host plants in the Amazon rain forest by poisoning all other plants with formic acid</a>. There are well over 15,000 species of ants on Earth, and they live on every continent except Antarctica. <a href="https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/a14883/ants-in-space/">Ants have even been to space</a>. </p>
<p>I love ants, so I can’t blame people for wanting ants as pets. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4BdjxYUdJS8?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Ants have complex social behaviours and can work together to solve problems, including building a bridge to transfer food across an open space.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Pet ants are often invasive species</h2>
<p>But some ant species are also very serious pests. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.iucngisd.org/gisd/100_worst.php">Five ant species — Argentine ants, red imported fire ants, yellow crazy ants, little fire ants and big-headed ants — are among the top 100 worst invasive species in the world</a> because they can have devastating impacts on local ecosystems. Invasive ants often <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s004420000572">out-compete native insects</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-017-1516-z">harm ground- and burrow-nesting birds</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2014.2846">help spread other pest species</a>.</p>
<p>The <em>PNAS</em> study found 520 ant species are traded as pets, and of those, 57 species (or 11 per cent) are known to be invasive, compared to just 1.7 per cent of ants overall. Interestingly, the pet trade in ants is new enough that those 57 invasive ant species were probably not introduced to new parts of the world by pet owners. </p>
<p>Instead, the new research emphasizes that the same traits that make animals good pets often make animals good invaders. For example, <a href="https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1046/j.1523-1739.2003.02018.x">invasive ant species commonly have colonies with more than one queen</a>, and ant species with multiple queens are also more commercially successful pets. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Ants crawling over a pale gecko" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/392034/original/file-20210326-19-18gt6hn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/392034/original/file-20210326-19-18gt6hn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/392034/original/file-20210326-19-18gt6hn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/392034/original/file-20210326-19-18gt6hn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/392034/original/file-20210326-19-18gt6hn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=543&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/392034/original/file-20210326-19-18gt6hn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=543&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/392034/original/file-20210326-19-18gt6hn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=543&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Yellow crazy ants attacking a gecko in India.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:YellowCrazyAnt-Dinakarr-4May11.JPG">(Dinakarr/Wikimedia)</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Because some of the ants I study in my lab are invasive species, my lab members and I take extra care to make sure our ants do not escape. We put the ants’ test tube nests in plastic Tupperware containers that we coat with a special substance called Fluon, a milky white resin that makes the walls of the containers so smooth that ants can’t climb up them. Then we put the containers on shelves that have legs that sit in little bowls of mineral oil. If a wayward ant happens to make a run for it, she’ll get stuck in the oil before she can get to the door. </p>
<p>But people keeping ants or other invasive animals as pets may not be as cautious. </p>
<p>Fortunately, there is an easy fix: do a little homework when looking for a new pet, and consider choosing a species that is native to your area. </p>
<p>Ant enthusiasts can even collect a colony locally. Ants are so diverse and abundant that there is good chance that you can find an interesting and suitable native ant species near you, wherever you are in the world. Just remember <a href="https://askabiologist.asu.edu/explore/collecting-ants">you have to find a queen to keep the colony going</a>. Then, sit back and indulge your love of ants.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/157661/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Megan Frederickson receives funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.</span></em></p>Animals that are traded as pets are more likely to be invasive species, including a relatively new pet: ants.Megan Frederickson, Associate Professor of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1148182019-04-04T19:14:21Z2019-04-04T19:14:21ZInvasive ants: federal budget takes aim but will it be a lethal shot?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/267522/original/file-20190404-131415-1ag8r2w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Argentine ants are a fact of life in many parts of Australia, but can still potentially be banished from Norfolk Island.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Davefoc/Wikimedia Commons</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Amid all the usual items we expect to see in the <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/federal-budget-2019-68336">federal budget</a> was one that raised eyebrows: A$28.8 million for three ant eradication programs. </p>
<p>Yet amid the inevitable media puns about the government “<a href="https://twitter.com/9NewsAUS/status/1113012139260702721">upping the ant-e</a>”, we should note that these funds are for the continuation of existing programs that have already attracted significant funding and made substantial progress. Stopping now would have meant previous funding was wasted. </p>
<p>The funds will go a long way towards protecting Australia’s economy and environment from the damage wrought by invasive ants. But despite the apparent cash splurge, it nevertheless falls short of what is really needed.</p>
<p>Of the $28.8 million, $18.3 million was for the <a href="https://www.daf.qld.gov.au/business-priorities/biosecurity/invasive-plants-animals/ants/fire-ants/eradication">National Red Imported Fire Ant Eradication Program</a>. These funds are part of a $411 million, ten-year program begun in 2017 to eradicate <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/invasive-species/insects-and-other-invertebrates/tramp-ants/red-imported-fire">red imported fire ants</a> from southeast Queensland, the only place they are found in Australia. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/cannibalism-helps-fire-ants-invade-new-territory-113752">Cannibalism helps fire ants invade new territory</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Removing these pests will avoid an estimated <a href="http://era.daf.qld.gov.au/id/eprint/5512/1/Wylie-2016-Red%20Imported%20Fire%20Ant%20in%20Australia.pdf">$1.65 billion in total costs to 19 different parts of the economy</a>. With previous funding, the program eradicated these ants from <a href="http://era.daf.qld.gov.au/id/eprint/4955/1/Wylie_et_al-2016-Ecological_Management_%26_Restoration_Eradication%20of%20two%20incursions%20of%20the.pdf">8,300 hectares near the Port of Brisbane</a>, making it the world’s largest ant eradication to date.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://invasives.org.au/yellow-crazy-ants/">Yellow Crazy Ant Eradication Program</a> was allocated $9.2 million over three years. <a href="http://www.iucngisd.org/gisd/species.php?sc=110">Yellow crazy ants</a> have caused a cascade of ecological effects on Christmas Island, and at their peak abundance <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-25/yellow-crazy-ant-discovered-in-northern-nsw/9796462">temporarily blinded a Queensland cane farmer</a> with their acid spray. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.wettropics.gov.au/">Wet Tropics Management Authority</a>, which runs the program, had requested $6 million per year for six years to continue removing the ant from in and around the <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/486">Wet Tropics World Heritage Area</a>. The federal funding is $3 million short of this, and the authority is still waiting to hear whether the Queensland government will provide the remainder. </p>
<p>Since 2013, the program has received $9.5 million from the federal government (and $3 million from the Queensland government). No yellow crazy ants have been observed in about half of the target area in more than a year. A yet-to-be published analysis estimates the benefit-cost ratio for the program as 178:1.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3ooTtNDX4OE?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">“It’s a mop-up operation… we’ve got our foot on the throat of this thing.”</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A further $1.3 million was allocated to the <a href="http://www.econorfolk.nf/pdf/AA%20Eradication%20Strategy%20NI%20June%202015.pdf">Argentine Ant Eradication Strategy</a> on Norfolk Island in the South Pacific. <a href="http://www.iucngisd.org/gisd/species.php?sc=127">Argentine ants</a> have invaded places with Mediterranean-type climates all over the world, including southwestern Western Australia and parts of southern Australia, and become firmly established. But unlike those areas, the population on Norfolk Island is still considered small enough to be eradicable, and <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/8b6189a7-77ca-4bef-9421-c7c9168d39db/files/tramp-ants-projects.pdf">federally funded efforts to remove them began in 2010</a>. </p>
<p>Yellow crazy ants in Queensland and Argentine ants on Norfolk Island directly threaten World Heritage Areas. The ants can have <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/8b6189a7-77ca-4bef-9421-c7c9168d39db/files/tramp-ants-projects.pdf">significant impacts on native birds, mammals, insects, reptiles, amphibians, and plants</a>. Getting rid of them is important for meeting Australia’s international obligations to protect World Heritage sites. </p>
<h2>What is ant eradication?</h2>
<p>Ant eradication means removing all individuals of a particular ant species from a given area. </p>
<p>The first step is to define the extent of that area. Depending on the species, this may involve visual searches and/or placing lures such as sausages, cat food, or jam to attract the ants. The public can help by notifying relevant authorities of unusual ants in their gardens, and by not transporting materials that have ants on them.</p>
<p>The second step is treatment. Currently, the only way to eradicate ants is with insecticidal baits. Ants’ social structure makes this particularly challenging: killing the queens is vital for eradication, but queens typically stay sheltered in the nest – the only ants we see out foraging are workers.</p>
<p>Some of the most problematic ant species can have hundreds of queens and tens of thousands of workers per nest. They can reach extraordinarily high densities, partly because invasive ant species, unlike most of our native ant species, do not fight one another for territories. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/267519/original/file-20190404-131418-1yvmi2q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/267519/original/file-20190404-131418-1yvmi2q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=312&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267519/original/file-20190404-131418-1yvmi2q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=312&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267519/original/file-20190404-131418-1yvmi2q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=312&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267519/original/file-20190404-131418-1yvmi2q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267519/original/file-20190404-131418-1yvmi2q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267519/original/file-20190404-131418-1yvmi2q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Yellow crazy ants, proving it is possible to feel sorry for a cockroach.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Bradley Rentz/Wikimedia Commons</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Beating ants means turning their biology against them. Bait needs to be attractive enough for workers to bring back to the colony and share, but not so deadly that they die before they get there. (And yes, this means if you’re spraying foraging ants in your kitchen you won’t get rid them for good, because the queens are somewhere hidden, laying more eggs and making more ants.) </p>
<p>Most ant eradication programs take three to four years to fine-tune their baiting regime because of a multitude of factors that need to be considered, such as seasonal changes in ant foraging behaviour and food preference, and the desire to avoid harming non-target species. Typically, two to six treatments are required, depending on the ant species, the size of the area, and the habitat type. </p>
<h2>Beating the 1%</h2>
<p>The hardest part of ant eradication is the end-game. Getting rid of the final 1% requires first finding them. This may mean painstaking searches through hundreds of hectares of bushland and residential areas, and the placement of hundreds of thousands of lures. Detector dogs can be very helpful, but they cannot be used in all environments and also need substantial resources for training, handling, and maintenance.</p>
<p>Ironically, it is at this stage that public and political support for eradication programs is most likely to wane, because ant numbers are too low to be seen as a threat to the public, economy or environment. Yet it is vital not to stop now, or else the remaining 1% will simply build up their numbers again. Experienced staff are also lost when programs suffer cuts or delays in their funding. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/eradicating-fire-ants-is-still-possible-but-we-have-to-choose-now-70199">Eradicating fire ants is still possible, but we have to choose now</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<p>Disappointingly not mentioned in the budget was funding for eradicating <a href="http://agriculture.vic.gov.au/agriculture/pests-diseases-and-weeds/pest-insects-and-mites/electric-ant">electric ants</a>. Like red imported fire ants, electric ants have a painful sting, and when left to multiply will eventually turn gardens and swimming pools into no-go zones. They also pose a significant threat to native animals such as the southern cassowary, and can blind animals as large as elephants. </p>
<p>They are currently only found in the Cairns region. The National Electric Ant Eradication Program, funded by federal and state governments, ran from 2006 until 2017 and had <a href="https://invasives.org.au/blog/electric-ants-cusp-eradication/">likely reduced numbers down to that last 1%</a>. The program has been running on state funding with reduced staff since then, but several new detections in the past three months demonstrate the cost of the gap in funding. </p>
<p>In those inevitable “federal budget winners and losers” lists, invasive ants have found themselves firmly in the losers column for 2019. But it’s worth remembering that most of the world’s roughly 15,000 known ant species provide vital services for the functioning of our ecosystems. </p>
<p>They aerate soil and redistribute its nutrients, protect plants from herbivores, disperse seeds, and repurpose dead organisms. They may even help slow down the spread of those pesky invasive ants that are much less friendly.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/114818/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lori Lach has received funding from the Wet Tropics World Heritage Authority and serves on the Authority's Yellow Crazy Ant Eradication Program Steering Committee. She is also a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for the National Red Imported Fire Ant Program.</span></em></p>Invasive pest ants cause billions of dollars worth of damage to crops, and threaten some of Australia’s World Heritage rainforests. The federal budget has pledged nearly $30m on wiping them out – but how?Lori Lach, Associate Professor, James Cook UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.