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of the population in fi re ant endemic areas
have reported stinging and systemic allergic
reactions have occurred in a small
proportion (<1%) of the population. Fire
ant venom consists largely of alkaloids
(95%) and a small portion of proteinaceous
component (0.1-1%) that causes local
reactions. Typical symptoms include small
papules, itchiness and pain with symptoms
typically lasting for a few days. In addition,
fi re ant stings may kill wildlife, young
poultry and other birds. Klotz
et al.
(2005)
performed a worldwide survey of stinging
ants and reviewed the cases of reactions to
ant stings caused by species other than
S.
invicta
. Ten genera (17 species) including
Formica
,
Hypoponera
,
Myrmecia
,
Odonto-
machus
,
Pachycondyla
,
Pogonomyrmex
,
Pseudomyrmex
,
Rhytidoponera
,
Solenopsis
and
Tetramorium
were implicated in caus-
ing serious allergic or adverse reaction in
humans.
The Asian needle ant,
Pachycondyla
chinensis
, has been introduced into the
USA in the late 1800s (Zungoli
et al
., 2005).
It is largely non-aggressive but will infl ict a
painful sting when handled or stuck under
clothing. Within the ant's native range, in
Korea, 2% of surveyed people had experi-
enced systemic allergic reactions to
P.
chinensis
stings (Cho
et al.,
2002). The
European fi re ant,
Myrmica rubra
, native to
Europe, is also becoming a common pest in
the north-east USA (Groden
et al.
, 2005).
Harvester ants (
Pogonomyrmex
spp.) also
sting readily and infl ict intense pain. Their
small colony size, conspicuous nest and
large worker size make it uncommon to
encounter stings by these ants.
fi eld ants,
Lasius neoniger
, build mounds
and are serious problems on golf courses
where a uniform surface is essential (Maier
and Potter, 2005). The mounds hinder
routine maintenance of turf grass by dulling
mower blades.
S. invicta
mounds make it
diffi cult to cultivate and harvest crops. In a
2000 survey of
S
.
invicta
damage in Texas,
USA, the leading damages were crop yield
loss (37%), repair cost (19%), control cost
(18%) and farmstead cost (10%) (Willis
et
al.,
2001).
Resurgence of Ants as Pests
Two phenomena in human society have
raised the importance of ants as urban pests,
namely increasing urbanization and
international trade and travel. Around the
world, the number of people living in urban
areas now exceeds the number of people
living in rural areas and in the USA more
than 80% of the population is urban.
Urbanized areas create an ideal environment
for a wide range of ant species and some
ants have become pests. The increase in
ants often results in increased efforts to
manage ant populations, especially for
invasive and medically important species.
Increased trade and travel is also correlated
with the spread of invasive and tramp ants.
Worldwide, a total of 147 ant species
belonging to 49 genera have been recorded
outside of their native habitat (McGlynn,
1999). Invasive species and human com-
mensal 'tramp' species now have wide-
spread geographic distribution and continue
to spread around the world. The red
imported fi re ant,
S. invicta
, is one of the
most economically important invasive pest
ants. In recent years, it has been inadvert-
ently introduced to Australia (McCubbin
and Weiner, 2002), Malaysia (Na and Lee,
2001), Taiwan (Huang
et al.,
2004) and
China (Zhang
et al
., 2007). The potential
economic impact of
S. invicta
introduction
is extremely high (Gutrich
et al.,
2007) and
eradication efforts in the newly introduced
countries are reported to be a failure (Oi and
Drees, 2009). As international trade and
travel continue to increase, the risk of
Damage to crops and recreational
areas
Ants may damage plants by cutting leaves,
girdling branches, removing seeds or
protecting homopterous insects. Fire ants
feed on the germinating seeds of some crops
(e.g. maize, sorghum, soybeans), buds and
developing fruits (e.g. citrus, okra). They
have been identifi ed to damage 57 species
of cultivated plants (Adams, 1986). Corn-
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