"It's 'fatal' to be bitten once,
The night (the sting site) was red, swollen and hot,
The bulging bag is the size of a palm,
It's like having another knee on your leg......
At its worst, the scalp is numb,
The whole person was dizzy. ”
recently
Ms. Xia described it to reporters
Killed by red fire ants
Feelings after the sting
Wounds after being stung by red fire ants. Source: Courtesy of the interviewee
Wuhan Academy of Landscape Sciences, Hubei Province
Institute of Plant Protection
Senior engineer Dong Likun reminded
At present, red fire ants have entered the active stage
If the public finds a nest of red fire ants
Try to detour and avoid approaching
and immediately report to the Department of Gardens and Forestry
The woman was bitten several times
The wound was sore and itchy
Recently, Ms. Xia wore slippers for a walk in the community, which is rich in greenery, she was accidentally stung on her right leg by red fire ants, and then went out several times, even if she wore socks and trousers, she was still bitten on her left leg, ankle and the back of her hand one after another.
Marks left after being stung by red fire ants. Source: Courtesy of the interviewee
"On the night of the bite, it was red, swollen and hot, bulging up the size of a palm, like another knee on the leg, and it itched so much that I couldn't sleep at all. Later, during that time, the process of blood scabs and scratching was repeated, and it was not only itchy but also painful. At the worst time, the scalp is numb and the whole person is dizzy. It's been a month and a half now, and it's not completely healed, and the bite area is still itchy. Ms. Xia told reporters.
Ms. Xia also said that she would use a hair dryer to blow hot air to relieve the itching of her skin, but the effect was very short-lived, and she could only boil it hard in the end. "Being bitten by a red fire ant once is 'fatal', not to mention that I have been bitten several times in a row, and now I still have marks everywhere on my body."
Red fire ants are aggressive
In severe cases, it can lead to shock and even death
Red fire ants, native to South America, are reddish-brown in color and resemble common ants in appearance, about 3 mm to 6 mm long. It has been described as "recognized as one of the 100 most dangerous invasive species in the world" and has been listed as a national agricultural, forestry and phytosanitary pest.
Morphology of red fire ant worker ants under the microscope. Source: Xinhua News Agency
Dong Likun said that red fire ants can threaten the health and even life safety of humans and animals. Red fire ants are very prone to high-density colonies in newly invaded areas, and once a person or livestock steps on an anthill, they will dump out of their nests and crawl on their bodies in swarms to bite.
Unlike ordinary ants, red fire ants are very aggressive. When a red fire ant stings, it will bite the skin with the upper jaw forceps, pierce it with a tail needle and release venom, and the sting will have a burning pain, followed by redness, swelling and suppuration, and some people with allergies may go into shock or even die.
Screenshot of the national emergency broadcast video
There are almost no natural predators on the mainland
Invaded 12 provinces
Dong Likun told reporters that the biggest feature of red fire ants is their nests, which often appear in grass, farmland, wasteland, roadsides, parks and other places. If you peel off the surface, there will be many dark red ants gushing out, large and small, among which the large is a soldier ant, and the small one is a worker ant, all of which can bite and sting.
Nest morphology of red fire ants in the wild. Source: Xinhua News Agency
Red fire ants are extremely fecundive, the number of individuals in a mature ant nest can reach hundreds of thousands, and an ant nest often has multiple queens, each queen ant can lay thousands of eggs per day, and ant mounds can be built on the ground in a short time, which has a great competitive advantage in the ecosystem, and has almost no natural enemies in the mainland.
According to the statistics released by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, in 2016, red fire ants invaded 281 counties (cities and districts) in 11 provinces, and by 2023, the data will change to 625 counties (cities and districts) in 12 provinces, and 344 counties (cities and districts) will be newly invaded in 7 years, and its spread rate is still very fast.
On September 19, 2023, the Sichuan Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the Sichuan Provincial Forestry and Grassland Bureau issued a notice on the "List of Red Fire Ant Occurrence Counties and Township-level Administrative Regions in Sichuan Province", and 48 counties (cities and districts) in 15 cities (prefectures) in Sichuan have red fire ant infestation.
Expert Reminder:
Report the nest immediately
Experts remind that at present, red fire ants have entered an active period, if the public finds that there are red fire ant nests around their homes, try to bypass and avoid approaching the ant nest, and it is recommended to report to the garden and forestry department immediately, and the relevant technical departments or professional control agencies and companies will carry out prevention. If you are accidentally stung by red fire ants, you should wash the wound with soap and water before going to the hospital in time.
Zhang Lei, a researcher at the Institute of Plant Protection of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, introduced that if you are accidentally bitten by red fire ants, you must not take it lightly, and if conditions permit, quickly clean the wound with soapy water or water, and you can apply some allergic agents such as steroids, so that the pain and itching are not so strong, but once people have fever and difficulty breathing, they must go to the hospital in time.
(Source: Jiangnan Metropolis Daily, Yangtze River Daily, Jiupai News, Xinhua News Agency, National Emergency Broadcasting)