Solenopsis invicta:
(extracted from a report submitted to CGAPS (Coordinating Group on Alien Pest Species) meeting on 22 March 2000 by Lloyd Loope)

The red imported fire ant (RIFA) is an extremely aggressive, economically and environmentally destructive stinging ant that has spread over much of the southern United States, despite federal quarantine measures. It can invade a broad range of habitats, with favorable habitat generally including areas where temperatures are greater than 10°F and rainfall greater than 10"/yr. The species is currently impossible to eradicate "once established". This is due to the fact that the colonies grow fast, produce lots of queens, produce queens during many months of the year, and have queens that fly. Hence prevention and early detection (before colonies begin to produce queens) is essential to preventing the permanent establishment of this ant in Hawaii. If the species becomes established in Hawaii, "controlling" ant numbers for any length of time will be extremely difficult and costly because 1.) current control methods have mixed results, and 2.) queens can easily fly in from untreated areas and reinvade recently treated areas. Hence, long term control of ant numbers requires a monumental degree of cooperation and coordination among neighbors/adjacent landowners, requiring everyone to treat their infested property at the same time.

Impacts of this ant are primarily associated with its aggressive stinging of humans and animals that disturb it. When a nest is disturbed hundreds of workers will attack and relentlessly sting the intruder. Stings are painful, and usually a victim will incur multiple stings. Stings sometimes lead to secondary infection. In addition to threatening human and animal safety, this ant also damages electrical and farm equipment, and crops. In summary, the RIFA inflicts serious health, economic, and environmental impacts on communities it invades.

Solenopsis invicta would likely do very well in Hawaii. due to the mild climate and prevalence of disturbed habitats (including range and agriculture lands). If it were to become established here. it would likely have serious negative effects in all sectors, affecting public health. tourism, agriculture and livestock industries, and natural ecosystems. With the recent establishment of this ant in California, the chance of its being introduced to Hawaii has increased, possibly, dramatically. Because of this, the ant group has applied for $50.000 in funding from the EPA to develop a prevention/quick response plan for this species. The money-will be used to pay-the salary of an entomologist assistant to develop the plan with input from the ant group. The in-kind match was contributed by Bishop Museum, YES, MISC, and HDOA.

IMPACTS OF A RIFA INVASION

HUMAN HEALTH:

• Children and the elderly have the highest sting rate; people that are less able to move (infants, elderly, infirm) and naive individuals (tourists and people new to RIFA infested areas) are most at risk of RIFA attacks.
• In RIFA infested areas, fire ant stings occur more frequently than bee, wasp, hornet, or yellowjacket stings. Disturbing fire ant mounds (nests) is almost unavoidable when walking in heavily infested areas.
• In heavily infested areas fire ants sting more than 50% of the human population each year.
• Approximately 1% of the population (or >10,000 Hawaii residents) is hypersensitive to stings and could die if untreated.
• Fire ants are known to invade buildings including nursing homes, schools, and other sites where people are at high risk for stings.
• At least 80 deaths have occurred from fire ant stings incurred outdoors; three deaths have been reported from indoor fire ant attacks.
• In South Carolina 33,000 sting cases (5% of all cases) in 1998 required medical attention and an estimated 176 South Carolinians were treated for RIFA induced anaphylaxis.

ECONOMIC

• Economic impacts of the RIFA are serious. RIFA's have caused billions of dollars in damage and control costs since entering the U.S.
  - Texas: estimated annual economic loss due to fire ants is $300 million
• Homeowners must control ant numbers on their property to avoid ant attacks; ant treatments can be costly. What homeowners spend each year on fire ant control:
  ­Texas: up to $600/yr
  ­Arkansas: $265/household a year
  ­South Carolina: $30 or more/yr for most homeowners, totaling $3-5million/yr
• Medical treatments of RIFA sting cases incur huge costs. For example:
  ­Texas: in five urban areas surveyed in 1998, costs totaled $47.2 million.
  ­South Carolina: costs totaled about $2.4 million in 1998
• Fire ants are attracted to and infest/damage electrical equipment.
  ­Texas: infestation of electrical equipment (such as air conditioners, airport runway lights. and traffic boxes) causes an estimated $11.2 million in damages annually
• Fire ants result in reduced property values, structural damage, and contaminated water systems. They can also discourage tourism and recreational activities.
  ­Texas: hunting, ranching, and recreational activities have been greatly affected by the presence of fire ants, altering behavior patterns and activities. In some areas, it is impossible to sit in the grass or stand on a shoreline to fish without being stung. This situation discourages tourism and poses liability concerns to owners and managers of public areas. (Texas fire ant management plan).
• Compliance with federal (USDA ) RIFA quarantine requires treatment and certification of certain goods shipped outside infested (quarantined) areas, at great cost to businesses affected. For example:
  ­S. Carolina nursury industry: certification plus broadcast treatments can exceed $650/acre annually.
• In RIFA infested areas ants can prevent hand harvest of fruit crops, where efficient, legal, controls are limited. Current treatments may be applied only to borders and other non-crop, areas of a field.
• Cattle producers suffer economic losses due to cattle injury and death, hay production losses (from farm equipment damage from mounds). ruined feed, ruined hay. electrical damage. shredder damage (due to mounds), and pesticide costs. Losses are high, for instance.
  ­Texas.-the Texas cattle industry sees a $254.9 million loss because of fire ants.
  ­Texas: veterinarians reported 7,204 RIFA injury cases annually. Most cases had multiple injuries. Veterinarians reported 2.649 RIFA related animal deaths, with value of these animals placed at nearly $3.5 million. Over half the deaths were cattle.
  ­Texas: over 80% of veterinarians cited fire ants as a threat to livestock health and economic loss. Estimated economic losses (for vet treatment and cattle lost) are estimated at $2, 1 66,800.
  ­S. Carolina: control in pastures, hay-fields. and recreational turfgrass is at least $28/acre annually.

ANIMAL HEALTH (WILDLIFE/PETS)

• Texas: researchers report that nearly 70% of veterinarians surveyed cited fire ants as a significant threat to animal health. Small animals and pets accounted for over half of all veterinarian reported RIFA inflicted injuries (not deaths).
• Most fire ant related animal deaths involve newborn or immobile animals (including tied/penned pets).
• Pet injuries include:
  ­mouth injuries due to infestation of pet bowls by ants
  ­skin injuries to animals penned, caged, tied and unable to escape
• Wildlife is seriously affected by fire ant infestations.
  ­RIFA have opportunistic feeding habits and actively prey on invertebrates, vertebrates, and plants. In general, as the RIFA invades an area, the diversity and abundance of native arthropods and vertebrates plummets.
  ­Animals susceptible to predatory attack by foraging RIFA include anything that is immobile and unable to escape, including the eggs and young of most vertebrates.
  ­Ingestion of RIFA negatively impacts insectivorous species. RIFA have been implicated in numerous fish kills throughout the southeast.
  ­Wildlife reported in the scientific literature to be killed by RIFA include: invertebrates, birds, lizards, turtles, small mammals, and the young of large mammals (fawns).
  ­Species known to be negatively impacted by RIFA include: colonial waterbirds (egrets, herons, spoonbills. cormorants, and gulls), wood ducks. endangered least terns, cliff swallows, crested caracara, bobwhite quail, loggerhead sea turtle, endangered green sea turtle, yellow fin shiners, white tailed deer, several species of small mammals, several species of invertebrates.
  ­USDA entomologists work with many environmental and conservation groups in the southern U. S. to keep fire ants from harming endangered species, such as Stock Island tree snails, gopher tortoises, Florida grasshopper sparrows, saltmarsh rabbits, and sea turtles.
  ­Waterbird colonies experience up to 100% hatchling mortality in RIFA infested sites. compared to sites where RIFA are controlled.
  ­Lower invertebrate diversity.

ENVIRONMENT/QUALITY OF LIFE

• Pesticide contamination -overuse and misuse of fire ant mound treatments are blamed for contamination of surface runoff water in Texas and California.
• Restricted outdoor use.
  ­In campsites in infested areas of public parks. it is often difficult to put up or take down a tent without being stung by fire ants.
  ­The fear of being stung influences people's choice of recreation/outdoor activities. In some infested areas, playgrounds, parks and picnic areas lie abandoned-unused because of the presence of fire ants.