FireRANT

Fire Ants Hit the Road for World Tour

Fire ants were introduced to North America in the early 1930s, setting foot here via a shipment of goods from South America.  This silent infiltration proved beneficial for the pests, which lack a natural enemy in North America.  Since then, fire ants have travelled far and wide, becoming established in close to half of the United States.  They have also made their way to other countries, such as Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, mainland China, and South Korea, which also lack the ants' enemy, the phorid fly.  How have these tiny critters amassed so many frequent flier miles?  The answer is simple: freeloading.

Fire ants are experts at infiltrating shipments bound for faraway destinations, be it Biloxi or Brisbane.  They have been found in bales of hay, cardboard boxes, potted plants, mulch, and even machinery and equipment.  There are many places to hide and fire ants sometimes find themselves in exotic locales, much to the chagrin of locals.

Flooding also provides a method of transportation for fire ants.  As discussed in a previous entry, fire ants form a protective, rotating ball around the queen, where the worker ants trap air in their body hair, allowing them to breathe.  Whole colonies can be uprooted.  Thus, they establish themselves in a new location.

While fire ants are a new problem for countries other than the Americas, suppression specialists worldwide are contributing to research that will allow at-risk populations to protect themselves from the aggressive nuisance.