LIHUE — Little fire ants, considered one of the world’s smallest and nastiest invasive species, are back in the spotlight after turning up on Oahu and Maui last month. On Dec. 23, a customer at a garden shop on Maui
LIHUE — Little fire ants, considered one of the world’s smallest and nastiest invasive species, are back in the spotlight after turning up on Oahu and Maui last month.
On Dec. 23, a customer at a garden shop on Maui reported a suspicious ant to the Maui Invasive Species Committee. Sure enough, entomologists with the Hawaii Department of Agriculture confirmed they were stinging ants.
Keren Gundersen, project manager for the Kauai Invasive Species Committee, said the recent incidents make the upcoming Kauai premiere of the documentary “Invasion: Little Fire Ants in Hawaii” extremely timely and important.
“We are trying to get as many people to attend as possible,” she said of the event. “This pest is a game changer as far as affecting Hawaii’s way of life, as well as our fragile ecosystem and tourism.”
The documentary, a production of MISC, screens at 5 p.m. Jan. 18 at Kauai Community College’s Performing Arts Center.
The recent confirmations on Maui and Oahu are not the first time the critters have made their way off of Big Island. In 2009, Maui farmer Christina Chang was stung on the eyelid by a tiny ant at her home in Waihee. She suspected, and the HDOA confirmed, that it was a little fire ant, Wasmannia auropunctata, never before found on Maui, according to a KISC release for the event.
The detection spurred creation of the film, which aims to change the results of the arrival of little fire ants in Hawaii.
“Invasive species introductions to Hawaii often end in regret and a list of should-haves,” KISC wrote in its release.
The 30-minute film features videography from award-winning film makers Masako Cordray and Chris Reickert, and examines the biology, impacts and potential solutions to the spread of little fire ants through interviews with scientists, farmers and community on the Big Island reeling from the impacts of this minuscule, but devastating, ant, according to the release.
KISC says viewers will learn how to identify and report new infestations, helping to protect Hawaii from the pest.
The first detection of LFA in Hawaii was in the Puna area in 1999. That same year, the ants were confirmed on Kauai and contained within a 12-acre area in Kalihiwai. The area continues to be under active control by the HDOA, the Hawaii Ant Lab and KISC.
Native to South America, little fire ants were first introduced as hitchhikers on imported plants. They are orange-red to light brown in color, slow-moving and deliver a painful sting when disturbed, causing welts that can last for weeks.
The 1/16 inch-long pests are known infest agricultural fields, where they damage crops and sting workers. In the Galapagos, they have been known to eat tortoise hatchlings and attack the eyes of adult tortoises, according to KISC.
An awards ceremony and panel discussion will follow the Kauai screening of “Invasion: Little Fire Ants in Hawaii.” For more information about the event visit www.mauiisc.org or call 808-573-6472.
