When you think of biological invasion, what comes to mind first? Some people think of "Star Wars", some people think of "Ultraman", I believe that most people think of the specific plot of the movie. In fact, biological invasion these years are not far away from us, let's say last year, there are African locusts, bamboo locusts from Myanmar, grassland night moths, etc., even our favorite summer crayfish, the earliest is also a representative of biological invasion.
Recently, another species has invaded our country, and that is the red fire ant. So in March this year, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and other 9 national departments jointly issued a called "Notice on Strengthening the Interception and Prevention and Control of Red Fire Ants", which shows how much harm red fire ants will bring if they spread wantonly!
Internationally, the red fire ant is also recognized as the most dangerous invasive in milk. This creature can destroy the root system of crops and feed on seeds and fruits; if it nests on power equipment, it will cause circuit short circuits or even failures; bites on humans and livestock, the most serious will lead to shock or even death; if red fire ants occur in urban green spaces and parks, it will pose a safety threat to people; if it nests on farmland, woodlands and river embankments, it will always threaten the safety of farmers.
The original Latin name of the red fire ant is "invincible" ant, which shows that it is itself a name for difficult governance. According to relevant data, red fire ants were first found in Guangdong in 2004, and by 2006, Guangxi and Hainan had already had the distribution of red fire ants, and then Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangxi, and Sichuan had red fire ants found. At present, red fire ants have appeared in 435 counties in 12 provincial-level administrative units in China, and the number has doubled relatively compared with 2016. It can be said that most of the southern provinces have been "lost".
The harm of the red fire ant also lies in its omnipresent eating. The red fire ant is a delicacy for 149 species of wild flowers and plant seeds, 57 species of crops, some insects and invertebrates.
So don't the red fire ants have natural enemies? There really is! There is a kind of "South American fruit fly" that is also produced in South America, which is similar to the red fire ant. This fruit fly attacks the red fire ant by parasitically, and after the larvae hatch, they eat the internal tissues of the ants, and the larvae of the fruit fly can also control the body movements of the red fire ants. However, in practice, the risk of fruit flies to the spread of diseases also needs to be comprehensively considered.
Are there any other predators besides the Fruit Fly in South America? Within the scope of our country, there really is! In East China and South China there is a widely distributed double-toothed spiny ant, in the current red fire ant occurrence area, also happens to be the two-toothed spiny ant infestation area, according to expert observation, double-toothed spiny ants have a strong sense of territory, but also has a tendency to attack red fire ants. And according to studies, the two-toothed spiny ant actively attacks the red fire ant more actively than defensively.
Although the natural nemesis of the red fire ant has been found, how to use the natural nemesis to eliminate the red fire ant is still a subject being explored. At present, the defense of red fire ants is still based on chemical reagents, such as dichlorvos, chlorpyrifos, diazine farmers and other pesticide preparations, and in the natural environment, red fire ants are almost difficult to encounter natural enemies, unless artificially introduced.
Nowadays, it has entered the busy agricultural season, the weather has gradually warmed up, and the activity area of red fire ants has gradually expanded, and now it has spread to 12 provinces and must be strictly controlled, you say?