Medicinal Herbs in Forest Systems
Understanding and Managing the Soils of Puna for Sustainable Food Production
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Little Fire Ant
Up one levelOn the Big Island, this ant is spreading rapidly and packs a wallop of a bite! It can live in your house, yard, trees and just about anywhere... wet or dry. It has been known to bite the eyes of livestock, pets and wildlife sometimes causes blindness and early fatality.
As one of the top three worst ant infestations you could have, it has been named the "worst" by ant researchers around the world. It is creating a tremendous challenge to farming and living on the Big Island. The infestation began on the East side about 16 years ago with a single queen and with no control measures. It is now spreading exponentially and is found from Kalapana to Laupahoehoe and possibly in Kohala (yet to be confirmed by DOA).
The queens and males of this ant species clone themselves and therefore all existing ants recognize themselves chemically as one giant "super"colony and "blanket" areas rather than creating "territorial" distance between colonies.
It is important to test all incoming plant-related materials and educate yourself on detection and controls presently available for this ant. Please help contain its spread - do yourself and your neighbor a favor - Learn how to keep it off of your property!
- Ant Management
- Little Fire Ant (Wasmannia auropunctata) management and control information - compiled by the IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG)
- Ask yourself these questions
- If you think the following, You might want to learn more about the “Little Fire Ants”
- Fire Ants and the Future of maui Wetlands
- A classroom exercises for school children to educate them about this ant. Contains good information and pictures for identifying LFA.
- Hawaii Ant Plan
- A plan for the prevention of establishment of new ant species in Hawaii, with special attention to the Red Imported fire Ant (Solenopsis invicta) and Little Fire Ant (Wasmania auropunctata). To date this plan has not been initiated.
- Infestation Testimonials
- We would like to share some testimonials we have received from some of the folks with LFA infestations. We have removed their personal information from the statements.
- LFA basic information sheet
- Concise basic LFA information - LFA facts, identification, monitoring, what to do next
- Little Fire Ant
- Information on the Little Fire Ant (Wasmania auropunctata) or LFA. It is important to become educated about this ant if you live on the Big Island
