Exotic to Australia, under eradication or management
Features: This group of invasive ant species, including the red
imported fire ant, are aggressive, spread quickly and would
disrupt our environment and usual way of life Where they're from: Asia, Africa, Europe, North America,
Central America, Caribbean, South America, Oceania How they spread: Importation of goods, packaging or
conveyances infested with ants At risk: The environment, our way of life, agriculture,
infrastructure and human health
Red imported fire ant is one of the invasive tramp ant species
we need to keep out of Australia. Scott Bauer, USDA Agricultural Research Service,
Bugwood.org
These invasive ant species are highly invasive. Once introduced, they spread rapidly threatening the environment, agriculture and way of life.
Invasive ants can disrupt local wildlife, sting humans and animals and prevent people from enjoying the outdoors. They can eat plants and even damage machinery and buildings including electrical insulation.
Many species originate from South America, including red imported fire ant, the Argentine ant and the electric ant, but browsing ant is native to southern Europe. Yellow crazy ant is thought to originate from Africa but can now be found throughout the Pacific.
Stop the spread
Some species have already invaded parts of Australia and measures are in place to prevent them spreading any further or to eradicate them.
Summary of exotic invasive ant incursions in Australia
Electric ant (Wasmannia auropunctata) Simon Hinkley & Ken Walker Museum Victoria Yellow crazy ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes) Ken Walker Museum Victoria
Yellow crazy ants (Anoplolepis gracilipes) on a leaf. Dr Ben Hoffman, CSIRO Red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta) Amy Carmichael Queensland University of Technology
Red imported fire ant nest. Department of Agriculture, Water and Environment Tropical fire ant (Solenopsis geminata) Tracey Smith Department of Agriculture Western Australia
Tropical fire ants on tuna Dr Ben Hoffman, CSIRO
Where to look
Importers
If you work around imported goods you need to look for invasive ants on:
crates
machinery
plant material
shipping containers
conveyances.
Home gardeners and people living near ports
Ants can be moved in:
containers
soil
plants
timber
machinery
goods carried by passengers.
Moving items out of your backyard, including pot plants can be an easy way for invasive ants to move to new locations. If you live in an area known to have invasive ants, take care not to spread them with items such as these. Consider leaving the items behind.
What to do
If you think you’ve found invasive ants:
take a photo
do not disturb the ants (this may be as simple as closing the doors on a shipping container or bagging a pot plant)
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