Yellow crazy ants could wreak environmental havoc
From the September 2007 edition of Agriculture Today.
Once upon a time in a farmyard it was Willy the Ant and his friends who came to the rescue of Mrs Clucketty and her eggs by removing Sneaky the Snake from the nest, and his dinner, without breaking the eggs.
The punch line was that "we may be small but when we all work together and follow the leader we sure shift things".
NSW Department of Primary Industries’ plant biosecurity risk management strategy leader, Kathy Gott, likens the popular children’s story with the impact exotic tramp ants can have on the environment - making them a serious pest.
"The problem, environmentally, is that invasive exotic tramp ants can do the same to Australia’s native fauna," Ms Gott said.
"Yellow crazy ants on Christmas Island wreaked environmental havoc through developing such large supercolonies that nothing, not even the iconic Christmas Island red land crabs, could stand in their path.
"NSW doesn’t have iconic red land crabs but we have had a small colony of Yellow crazy ants at Goodwood Island wharf, near Yamba.
"We are optimistic that after three years of treatment we can declare eradication soon.
"Our target is two years of nil detection and that time period is due at the end of January 2008 - so far so good."
Ms Gott says that the problem is that despite thorough and regular surveillance, there is always the possibility that a small, hidden colony can be overlooked.
"At Goodwood Island NSW DPI has the advantage of close collaboration with wharf management and has run public awareness programs to inform the community," Ms Gott said.
"Public reporting of pests and diseases provides a broad-spectrum passive surveillance resource to supplement official trapping and monitoring progams."
Call the Exotic Plant Pest Hotline 1800 084 881 if you spot anything unusual.
Contact Kathy Gott, (02) 6391 3747.
