Little fire ants (LFA) are well named. They are minute, about as
long as a penny is thick (1/16"). And they not
only are orange-red like flame, but their bite burns like fire and then causes
welts and intense itching far disproportionate to the insects’ size. Domestic
and wild animals and birds are also at risk from the pest: Multiple stings in their
eyes can cause blindness, or even the death of newborn animals. LFA infest
yards, orchards, fields, and houses, lowering quality of life and agricultural
productivity.
LFA first reached the Big Island in 1999, migrating to Kaua‘i in
2004 and Maui in 2009. O‘ahu is the latest island to be hit—in Waimanalo in
December 2013 and Mililani Mauka in June 2014. Considered one of the worst
invasive pests worldwide, LFA demands a strong response. Members of CTAHR’s
LFA-busting team include participants in the CTAHRsponsored GoFarm Hawai‘i
program, who recently volunteered to scout for LFA in Waimanalo on Stop Little
Fire Ant Day. Agricultural economists PingSun Leung and Stuart Nakamoto, with
their co-authors, published a comprehensive report for policymakers on the
effects of increased LFA control on the Big Island, showing that the economic
and human benefits will far outweigh the initial expense.
On the front lines of the fight is entomologist Arnold Hara, who
is researching the eradication of LFA and who, with research support Ruth
Niino-DuPonte and Susan Cabral, has published articles and advisories about the
ants. Dr. Hara is searching for the baits that are the most attractive to the
ants and the insecticides that are labeled for use in Hawai‘i that are most successful
in eradicating them. Toxic baits are effective, he comments, because the ants
bring
them back to their nests for others to feed on, doing the
eradicators’ work for them.
LFA can be eliminated. Thanks to an interagency group
headed by the Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture and including CTAHR and other
community and governmental groups, LFA were eradicated from Kaua‘i and Maui,
and a later appearance on Maui has been contained, while surveys on O‘ahu as of
November 2014 show radically diminished populations and no further spread. And
the anti-ant team is continuing its work to quench the ants’ fire.
Report new infestations of LFA by calling 643-PEST.