Invasive pest threatening to devastate Aussie communities as weather warms: 'Economical disaster'
Although they’re tiny, they can swarm in great numbers, killing much larger animals such as lizards, frogs and even mammals.
As Australia's weather gradually heats up, agriculture experts are sounding the alarm over an invasive pest due to reemerge that has the potential to wreak "economic and ecological disaster".
With spring officially underway, pest control authorities are warning Aussies conditions are ripe for yellow crazy ants (YCA) — a highly invasive and dangerous species that puts our tourism sector at risk and threatens to devastate the agriculture industry, leaving lasting impacts on local communities.
Speaking to Yahoo News Australia, Reece Pianta from the Invasive Species Council said these ants prefer warming weather and therefore are now becoming more active. "This period is extended with the warm late weather, [which] generally means there are more food sources to forage so ants become more active," he told Yahoo.
YCA are established across Australia and have been branded one of the most damaging invasive species on the planet. First found in the country in 1934, yellow crazy ants have since been recorded in Queensland, the Northern Territory and NSW.
Deadly pests threatening multiple Australian industries
Most worryingly, they threaten regions like Queensland’s Wet Tropics World Heritage Area — one of the oldest continuously surviving tropical rainforests on the planet. In Queensland YCA infestations are being managed by local authorities in Cairns, Townsville, the Whitsundays and Brisbane City.
The notorious pests are known for "frenetic activity" when disturbed, hence their name.
They are extremely aggressive and usually will out-compete other insects to dominate and destroy food resources, including in horticultural and agricultural crops, where they have a particular taste for sugar cane.
Around 95 per cent of sugar produced in Australia is grown in Queensland and about five per cent in northern NSW, along 2,100 km of coastline between Mossman in Far North Queensland and Grafton in northern NSW, according to the federal government.
Yellow crazy ants capable of killing 'much larger' animals
"YCA form super colonies but the individual ants do not bite," Pianta explained. "Instead, they spray formic acid to blind and kill their prey. And although they’re tiny, they can swarm in great numbers, killing much larger animals like lizards, frogs, small mammals, turtle hatchlings and bird chicks and reshaping entire ecosystems."
Pianta said YCA are a workplace health and safety issue for outdoor and agriculture workers in tropical environments. "Ideal habitats include all of our idyllic locations — so they will become a problem for tourists," he warned.
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"It is hard to calculate the potential impact of an invasive species that can invade rainforests, displace native insects and animals, and turn habitats silent."
Calling for more funding to assist in combatting population numbers, Pianta said "there is no systematic eradication effort" as there is with fire ants. "Responses are left to local authorities who struggle to find reliable funding for control efforts. There should be more reliable funding to support local councils and environment groups," he said.
"Unlike other invasive ants, YCA will create colonies in our homes, we have had examples of large infestations inside roofs and electric fittings and attacking residents inside their homes."
Australian pesticide expert David Priddy said if not stopped in their tracks, YCA could threaten Queensland with economic and ecological disaster. "[They are] putting the state’s sugar cane and tourism industries at risk and threatening devastating impacts on local communities," he said.
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