[Updated 13.10.2024]
Solenopsis invicta, known as the Red imported fire ant (RIFA) has been deemed in an instructive and frightening American video as the Most successful creature that has ever lived.
They are omnivorous, they are ferocious, they have an unrivalled capacity for concerted action to promote their species, and they are here. According to the Invasive Species Council fire ants are one of the world’s worst super pests. If allowed to spread, a 2016 study found the impact of fire ants would be greater than rabbits, cane toads, foxes, camels, wild dogs and feral cats combined.
When RIFA was discovered in 2001 in the Port of Brisbane and in the western suburban fringe near Ipswich we chose eradication rather than suppression. Our response has been chequered and spasmodic with periodic reviews.
Can our rickety political structure of six states and two territories loosely joined in a commonwealth defeat this determined little critter? Whenever we have paused, fire ants have advanced. After the Senate Inquiry brought down in April, once again we are pausing rather than ramping up our effort to a full court press.
Unless we ramp up our effort before we get distracted with national elections my bet is that fire ants will cut a swathe through our wildlife, disrupt our agriculture, attack our infrastructure and threaten our outdoor way of life. More likely than not, RIFA will win. Continue reading Is the invasive fire ant winning the war?
Australia’s agreed fire ant eradication program, joint-funded by all states, territories and the Commonwealth, is in jeopardy because only Queensland and new South Wales have met their funding commitments. As a result the containment and eradication work agreed under the plan has been cut by more than 50%.