Posted on 09/13/2023 12:03:00 AM PDT by nickcarraway
Red fire ants are one of the world's worst and costliest invasive alien species - and they're making Italy their home.
One of the world’s worst invasive alien species has arrived in Europe for the first time, a new study reveals.
The red fire ant has formed a mature population in Sicily, Italy, according to research published in the scientific journal Current Biology.
The study warns that, with the help of global warming, the ants could spread across the continent. The climate in half of Europe’s urban areas is already suitable for the species.
This could have devastating and costly impacts on biodiversity, crops and human health.
Why are red fire ants dangerous? As aggressive foragers, fire ants usually become the dominant ant species when they are introduced to a new territory.
This means they can devastate native ant populations and destroy native plants. They also have a venomous sting that can kill or injure frogs, lizards and small mammals.
The ants can also sting people making public areas such as parks unsafe for children. They may also cause a life-threatening allergic reaction in a small percentage of people who react to their venom.
Through predation, competition and stinging they have also been known to impact birds and fish.
As well as wreaking havoc on local ecosystems and biodiversity, fire ants can damage crops and infest electrical equipment.
They are the fifth costliest invasive species in the world, costing almost €20 billion in damage and management between 1970 and 2017, according to one estimate published in the journal Nature in 2021.
Fire ants are listed among the 100 worst invasive alien species by the Global Invasive Species Database.
Invasive species are causing hundreds of billions in economic damage. Is climate change to blame? ‘Virtually no one on Earth escaped’: 98% of world's population exposed to global warming this summer Where do red fire ants come from? Red fire ants - or Solenopsis invicta - originally come from South America.
In less than a century, they have spread via human trade throughout much of the United States, Mexico, the Caribbean, China, Taiwan and Australia. They often travel in infested soil, hay, mulch, and landscaping and construction materials.
Solenopsis invicta is already listed as a ‘species of concern’ on the EU’s invasive alien species list.
In the US alone, annual costs associated with the species are now estimated to be around $1 billion (€933 million).
New Zealand is the only country to have successfully eradicated this invasive ant.
Fire ants have previously been documented in products in Spain, Finland and the Netherlands but not in the wild as seen in Sicily, where 88 nests have been found.
Will fire ants spread across Europe? Locals near the Sicilian city of Syracuse have been reporting frequent fire ant stings since 2019.
Genetic analysis of the ants found in the area suggests they may have originated in the southern US, mainland China or Taiwan.
It is unclear how or when the species was introduced to the area, but it may have been through the nearby Augusta cargo port.
Researchers found that the ants could establish themselves in 7 per cent of Europe and the Mediterranean under current environmental conditions. Agricultural areas are most at risk, while half of the urban areas studied have suitable conditions.
Of these, coastal Mediterranean cities with major seaport connections are most at risk.
Future projections show that Europe’s environment is likely to become more widely suited for the ants as the climate heats up.
The researchers advise that early detection and action are key in managing this new threat. Citizen reporting of stings and nests could help track the spread of the ants.
If I were woke I would see light colored ants dominating dark colored ants. And it would be my fault for trying to maintain my ever shrinking ant sized carbon footprint.
“They are the fifth costliest invasive species in the world…”.
I know who are the first.
Komodo Dragons?
Chula Cabra?
Illegal aliens
The Africans who probably brought them to Italy?
Fire ants are bad. However they are probably not as bad as many of the other invasive pests from China there seems to be no end to. I’d bet the Maromated Stink-bug does way more financial damage, the Emerald Ash Borer has pretty much made the Ash tree go extinct already and the new guy on the block the Lantern Fly is supposed to be very bad and is spreading like mad.
I remember some state tried to eradicate the fire ant and after millions of dollars and tons of poison spayed in the environment they did a survey and their numbers actually INCREASED LOL. Turn out the enemies of the fire ant like spiders were getting killed by the poisons faster than the ants.
We in Texas reply: Welcome to the party, pal!
Invasive species
Although most fire ant species do not bother people and are not invasive, Solenopsis invicta, known in the United States as the red imported fire ant (or RIFA), is an invasive pest in many areas of the world, including the United States, Australia, China and Taiwan.[23] The RIFA was believed to have been accidentally introduced to these countries via shipping crates, particularly with Australia when they were first found in Brisbane in 2001.[24] These ants have now since been spotted in Sydney for the first time.[25] They were believed to be in the Philippines, but they are most likely to be misidentified for Solenopsis geminata ants.[26]
The red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta), also known as the fire ant or RIFA, is a species of ant native to South America. A member of the genus Solenopsis in the subfamily Myrmicinae, it was described by Swiss entomologist Felix Santschi as a variant of S. saevissima in 1916. Its current specific name invicta was given to the ant in 1972 as a separate species. However, the variant and species were the same ant, and the name was preserved due to its wide use. Though South American in origin, the red imported fire ant has been accidentally introduced in Australia, New Zealand, several Asian and Caribbean countries, Europe and the United States.
Climate change in 1916?
Like most all invasive species, they were imported by ship, whether accidental or otherwise.
Got a friend who smokes?
Poke a butt or two in the mound
Fireants hate nicotine.
Discovered this while residing
in the Houston area.
I have since quit smoking.
So this has nothing to do with the increased amount of shipping both by sea and air?
If airlines didn’t exist Covid wouldn’t have made it out of China... The reason why species are migrating more easily isn’t because of global warming... It’s because of global transportation.
Remember “Killer bees”? Long before “Murder hornets”, they were trying to scare everyone about killer bees migrating up from South America. That was in the ‘70’s. Haven’t heard much about them (or “murder hornets”) in quite a long time.
No kidding. I steer clear of those little creeps. Besides snakes I think they are the worst.
Unfortunately euronews, winter is coming.
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