New detection of Little Fireplace Ant highlights vigilance : Maui Now
The current detection of a brand new inhabitants of Little Fireplace Ant in Wailua River State Park on Kauaʻi, was confirmed by a pattern submitted by a involved citizen, exhibiting how important residents are to the method.
The Hawaiʻi Division of Agriculture and the Kauaʻi Invasive Species Committee surveyed the encompassing space and presently estimate the brand new infestation covers 13-35 acres. Surveys, led by KISC, to find out the total extent of the infestation are ongoing.
Curt Cottrell, Administrator of the DLNR Division of State Parks stated, “The placement of this LFA inhabitants is regarding due to its proximity to the Wailua River. LFA can “raft” alongside waterways permitting them to unfold far better distances.”
“Our present precedence is to discover a stable perimeter of the infestation,” stated Tiffani Keanini, KISC Supervisor. “After we establish the dimensions and terrain, we start to develop a response plan, brainstorm administration methods, and listing sources wanted to handle the inhabitants.”
This comes throughout “Cease the Ant Month” in Hawaiʻi, a multi-agency effort that encourages group consciousness and participation to fight the unfavourable financial and environmental impacts of LFA. KISC works with numerous DLNR divisions, HDOA, Hawaiʻi Ant Lab and the Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Council for entry, sources, and technical experience.
KISC asks residents to gather ants on their properties through the use of a smear of peanut butter on a number of chopsticks and leaving them out for about an hour. The peanut butter attracts ants. Sticks ought to then be rigorously collected and sealed in a zip-top bag and frozen for twenty-four hours to kill any ants, then dropped off or mailed to the KISC workplace for identification.
By means of the collective efforts of HDOA, KISC and the Hawaiʻi Ant Lab, earlier makes an attempt to comprise LFA on Kauaʻi have been largely profitable.
Previous to this yr, LFA have been established at three areas on Kauaʻi.
- 11 acres in Kalihiwai (detected in 1999)
- 2.5 acres in Kilauea (2019)
- 12 acres in Moloaʻa (2020)
Ant populations at Kalihiwai and Kilauea have been managed and lowered to near-undetectable ranges. Remedy efforts at Moloaʻa are ongoing and up to date surveys present the inhabitants is below management.
“New detections of little hearth ants are all the time regarding,” stated Phyllis Shimabukuro-Geiser, chairperson of the Hawaiʻi Board of Agriculture. “As with earlier incidents, we respect the cooperation between the a number of companies in serving to to comprise infestations and stop the additional unfold of those invasive ants.”
2) MISC Photo_LFA survey: Little hearth ants (LFA) are collected by an LFA staff member throughout a survey. A brand new infestation of LFA has been found in Haiku. MISC estimates the infestation is roughly four-to-six acres and can end mapping its extent earlier than starting management therapies. Photograph: MISC
Invasive little hearth ants found in Haʻikū, Maui
Right here on Maui, a brand new inhabitants of the invasive little hearth ants was found in Haʻikū in late August. A staff with the Maui Invasive Species Committee estimates the infestation to incorporate roughly four-to-six acres.
Little hearth ants are native to South and Central America and are thought to have arrived in Hawaiʻi within the late Nineteen Nineties. The ants are tiny – solely so long as a penny is thick. They kind supercolonies with a number of queens, blanket landscapes, and outcompete most different bugs within the space, each native and non-native. Elsewhere on this planet, little hearth ants have had devastating impacts on native biodiversity, based on MISC.
Reviews from group members have led to the detection of 13 of the 19 identified infestations on Maui.
As soon as detected, every infestation is handled for roughly one yr, then monitored to make sure elimination.
The brand new infestation in Haʻikū will make eight little hearth ant websites on Maui below lively remedy.
Six websites are within the monitoring part (ants not presently detected), and 5 have been eradicated. Maui’s largest little hearth ant infestation in Nahiku has proven promising outcomes: 95% of the samples collected in final yr’s survey efforts have been empty, indicating that the remedy of this 175-acre web site is working. A complete survey will happen later this month to additional gauge progress.
