The Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture and the Kaua‘i Invasive Species Committee will work together to survey more than 36 nurseries, garden centers and waste transfer stations on Kaua‘i for the presence of the little fire ant (Wasmannia auropunctata) and stinging
The Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture and the Kaua‘i Invasive Species Committee will work together to survey more than 36 nurseries, garden centers and waste transfer stations on Kaua‘i for the presence of the little fire ant (Wasmannia auropunctata) and stinging nettle caterpillar (Darna pallivitta).
The cooperative effort between the Department of Agriculture and the Kaua‘i committee will allow the groups to survey an expanded area.
No ants have been detected during surveys of Kaua‘i nurseries over the past several years; they were spread to Kaua‘i in 1999. The department has also been surveying for nettle caterpillar on Kaua‘i since they were detected on O‘ahu several months ago.
The surveys use pheromone traps to attract adult male moths as well as visually inspecting for the caterpillars, cocoons or characteristic leaf damage.
The two pests are known to spread to new locations hidden in plants and nursery material, although there may be other ways they can spread, according to the state.
Little fire ants were first reported in the state in March 1999 in Puna. Later that same year, the department learned of a shipment of plants from this area to a landscaping project on Kaua‘i, which spread the ants to the Garden Isle. Since that time, the state has treated the affected area with the goal of eradication. Ongoing treatment and surveys have reduced the ants to such a low level that they are undetectable. Currently, this is the only known location of the ants on Kaua‘i.
Stinging nettle caterpillars are not known to be present on Kaua‘i, but like the fire ant, they have been known to travel in nursery plants from infested areas in the state. Stinging caterpillars were first reported in a nursery in East Hawai‘i in 2001. This year, nettle caterpillars were reported infesting a nursery on O‘ahu, and were also found in Haiku, Maui.
The department asks that the public report these and other new pests by calling the State’s Pest Hotline at 643-PEST. For more information on the little fire ant, visit www.hawaii.gov/hdoa.
