{"id":238,"date":"2014-02-01T20:47:45","date_gmt":"2014-02-01T20:47:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost:8888\/EH\/?p=238"},"modified":"2015-06-02T18:36:39","modified_gmt":"2015-06-02T18:36:39","slug":"annual-damages-from-little-fire-ant-could-be-170-million-on-big-island-alone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/?p=238","title":{"rendered":"Annual Damages from Little Fire Ant Could Be $170 Million on Big Island Alone"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

If efforts to control the little fire ant (LFA) on Hawai`i stay as they are, the island could see damages of nearly $170 million a year, as well as 33 million sting incidents a year. That\u2019s according to University of Hawai`i planning student Mike Motoki, a presenter at the 21st annual Hawai`i Conservation Conference held recently in Waikiki.<\/p>\n

The bright orangey-red ants \u2013\u00a0Wasmannia auropunctata<\/i>\u00a0— are native to Central and South America and form large colonies on the ground and in trees. In addition to Hawai`i, they have also invaded Tahiti, the Galapagos Islands, and other parts of the Pacific. Their burning stings can send you running to the drugstore for a pack of Benadryl.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Using a model developed by scientists at UH, Motoki has been able to estimate the potential economic harm and number of sting incidents that are likely to occur with varying levels of ant management. He looked only at impacts to six sectors (nurseries, agriculture, residential, lodging, parks, schools, and other). He did not assess the potential threats to native species or the costs associated with pets blinded by ant stings.<\/p>\n

Eradication, he found, wasn\u2019t really worth the cost. His model showed that it would cost about a billion dollars to eradicate the ants from Hawai`i island, where they have steadily spread since a state entomologist discovered them there in 1999.<\/p>\n

And even if you spent all that money, says Hawai`i Ant Lab manager Casper Vanderwoude, \u201cyou may or may not succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ants, as tiny as crumbs, are notoriously persistent. Eradication is \u201cprobably not an economic thing to do\u201d given the cost, Vanderwoude told\u00a0Environment Hawai`i<\/i>. Motoki recommended something in between the status quo and total eradication. Spending about $70 million on mitigation and the prevention of an expanded ant range over the next ten years could result in a significant decrease in damages and ant sting incidents, he found.<\/p>\n

Currently, the Hawai`i Ant Lab, based in Hilo and funded by the U.S. Forest Service, the Department of Land and Natural Resources, and the Department of Agriculture, has an annual budget of only $200,000 to $250,000, Vanderwoude says, and with that he and his staff are supposed to address all invasive ant problems throughout the state. His staff \u2013 just 3.6 people \u2013 conducts research on better ways to control the LFA and coordinates with the Hawai`i Department of Agriculture and island invasive species committees to control incipient infestations and educate the public.<\/p>\n

A couple of recent community workshops on the LFA were \u201cfrighteningly well-attended,\u201d he says, adding, \u201cThe demand for residential workshops has been really, really high.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ants have already spread to an estimated 6,000 sites from lower Puna to Laupahoehoe on the east side, and to the Kona airport and Ka`u on the west. Some 4,000 homes, 186 farms, six parks, a school, a hotel, and 568 other sites on the island have been infested, Motoki said. Fellow presenter Lissa Strohecker, an outreach specialist with the Maui Invasive Species Committee, added that the Hawai`i island office of the state Department of Agriculture now gets 25 to 30 calls a week from people seeking advice on how to get rid of the pests.<\/p>\n

And the ants aren\u2019t just biting people, they\u2019re hampering inter-island trade and tourism.<\/p>\n

Motoki reports that the model predict 23 percent of plant nurseries on Hawai`i island are infested with the ant. As a result, a number of landscapers on Maui have stopped importing plants from Hawai`i and have started sourcing locally, according to biologist and environmental consultant Forest Starr.<\/p>\n

Visitors to a few badly infested beach parks and the Panaewa Zoo are \u201cconstantly being stung by ants falling from trees,\u201d according to the ant lab\u2019s website.<\/p>\n

Despite the ant\u2019s obvious impacts, Strohecker said, there still seems to be a lack of awareness on Hawai`i of how bad the pest can be once it\u2019s established.<\/p>\n

\u201c[E]ven though properties have ants, residents are often not treating, or treating too inconsistently to be effective, citing treatment cost and neighboring lot access as limitations,\u201d her abstract states.<\/p>\n

Government agencies have been encouraging the landscape industry to treat plants, working with farmers markets to encourage testing, and trying to spread the word at community events with the Big Island Invasive Species Committee, among other things, Strochecker said.<\/p>\n

Should resource managers ever get an influx of funds to control the ant, Motoki\u2019s model suggests that focusing on suppression in the agricultural, nursery, and lodging sectors would likely yield more economic benefits than focusing on residential, school, and park sectors. However, that strategy would protect far fewer people from getting stung.<\/p>\n

Incipient Infestations<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

So far, the ants haven\u2019t been detected on O`ahu. On a farm in west Maui, a small infestation found in 2009 was thought to be nearly eradicated a couple of years ago, but scientists discovered a nest on the property this year. On a 12-acre site on the North Shore of Kaua`i, after repeated treatment with pesticides, resource managers are now close to stamping out a decade-old infestation there.<\/p>\n

To prevent plants shipped from Hawai`i island from causing further infestations, the HDOA requires all potted plants from there to be inspected. If any ants are found, the plants must be treated with pesticide before being shipped. Nurseries inspected twice a year by the HDOA and certified to be ant-free, however, may ship plants freely.<\/p>\n

Some scientists and resource managers have recommended tightening the state\u2019s regulations to prevent the transport of any plants from known high-risk areas, but so far, no rule amendments have been proposed.<\/p>\n

Presenter Gary Morton of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry in Queensland, Australia, described the protocols and methods his agency has implemented to prevent the spread of the LFA, which was first discovered there in 2006.<\/p>\n

In Queensland, where eradication is still possible, 50-meter buffers are imposed around infested areas and landowners are prohibited from moving materials or ants out of the quarantine area without the approval of an inspector, Morton said.<\/p>\n

With two trained ant-sniffing dogs (plus their handler), a field staff of five, and strict protocols on moving vegetation, Morton has managed to inspect and treat some 260 hectares.<\/p>\n

When inspecting green waste, \u201cthat\u2019s where the dogs come in really handy,\u201d Morton said. \u201cThey can check some soil and run across some plants very quickly, in a five or ten minute period.\u201d<\/p>\n

Morton also advocates for proactively searching for the ants.<\/p>\n

\u201cCatching that cycle early, that\u2019s how we\u2019re going to eradicate. There\u2019s less plants that are being moved. Hopefully [we\u2019re] reducing the chance of spreading. … We\u2019re on target for eradication,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Although penalties for violating the quarantine are high, \u201cwe\u2019ve issued warnings but never prosecuted anybody,\u201d he continued, adding that it\u2019s difficult to prove a person knowingly moved infested materials.<\/p>\n

Once an infestation is treated with pesticide, his team resurveys the area nine months later with the dogs, then again nine months after that.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we find nothing, we declare freedom,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

So how important are the dogs?<\/p>\n

For Morton, it means doing only two follow-up surveys rather than three. \u201cThey\u2019re also an enormous engagement tool. We\u2019ll do demonstrations at events. They\u2019re such a visible part of our program,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

They are, however, very expensive. His dogs are trained to detect little fire ants \u2013 or as they call them in Queensland, \u201celectric ants\u201d \u2013 as well as red imported fire ants. The cost of that training: $60,000.<\/p>\n

Vanderwoude, who mediated the conference panel on LFA, says the dogs are really handy when eradication is the goal and \u201cwhere you have to find every last ant.\u201d And they\u2019re also good in a quarantine context. \u201cIf you had a trailer load of potted plants … if there was one fire ant in there, they would find it,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

But because they\u2019re so expensive to train and maintain, dogs are not ideal for controlling ants on Hawai`i island, \u201cwhere we have ants everywhere. … You\u2019re not looking to find\u00a0an<\/i>\u00a0ant,\u201d he says. \u201cThere is a use for detector dogs, but it\u2019s important to do the math first.\u201d<\/p>\n

More information on this problem as well as how to manage Little Fire Ants can be found on the Hawai\u2018i Ant Lab websitewww.littlefireants.com<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

***
\nCan the Mongoose
\nBe Eradicated from Kaua`i?<\/b><\/div>\n

\u201cThank you, Theresa. That was very depressing,\u201d said Advancing Biodiversity session moderator Josh Atwood of Theresa Menard\u2019s presentation on how difficult it will likely be to eradicate mongoose from Kaua`i, especially with only a year\u2019s worth of funding in place for a single dedicated technician.<\/p>\n

If they can\u2019t be eradicated, the \u201ceggs and hatchlings of ground nesting birds like our state bird, the nene, and endangered sea turtles like the hawksbill sea turtle are especially at risk,\u201d states the website for the Kaua`i Invasive Species Committee (KISC).<\/p>\n

No one knows whether mongooses have established a breeding population on the island or if there\u2019s only an incipient one. One mongoose was found in 1968. Another, a lactating female, in 1976, Menard said. They had been sighted sporadically throughout the decades, then in 2012, they seemed to be everywhere. A male was captured near the airport, then a female near Nawiliwili harbor. And there were dozens of sightings.<\/p>\n

Menard, a map maker and data analyst for The Nature Conservancy of Hawai`i, KISC\u2019s Keren Gundersen, and John Chapman of the National Tropical Botanical Garden ran various scenarios on a population model to determine what, if anything, could be done to rid the island of the pest that has already established itself on O`ahu, Moloka`i, Maui, and Hawai`i island.<\/p>\n

Based on the number of credible, non-overlapping sightings in 2012, the team estimated that there are about 54 mongooses on Kaua`i. Because of the model\u2019s limitations, they set a carrying capacity of 5,000 animals, but the actual capacity could be much higher, Menard said.<\/p>\n

Simply put, without consistently high levels of harvest, there\u2019s no chance of eradication. Menard reported that if no more mongooses make their way to the island, and if managers are able to cull 29 of them a year, there is a 50 percent chance that Kaua`i would be mongoose-free after 15 years.<\/p>\n

Under a scenario in which only half of the adult females breed, a harvest of 29 a year would eliminate the population in three years. If only eight a year were caught, it\u2019s likely they could be eradicated after 27 years, the model showed.<\/p>\n

However, if only two mongooses a year somehow make it to Kaua`i and no more than 29 a year are caught, eradication becomes impossible, the model showed.<\/p>\n

To prevent newcomers from supplementing the current mongoose population on the island, Menard recommended signage and inspections.<\/p>\n

Trapping the animals has proven difficult. After two were captured in the summer of 2012, staff with KISC, the Department of Land and Natural Resources\u2019 Division of Forestry and Wildlife, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Young Brothers spent more than 2,500 hours over the rest of the year setting and checking more than 300 traps. By the end of the year, they had caught mice, chickens, cats, and toads, but no mongooses. No mongoose has been caught so far this year.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

***
\nTwo Candidates for
\nMiconia Biocontrol<\/b><\/div>\n

Enemies of one of the worst invasive plants in the Pacific are a step closer to being deployed in Hawai`i. At the conservation conference, U.S. Forest Service entomologist Kenneth Puliafico reported on his progress with determining if two insects from the home range of\u00a0Miconia calvescens<\/i>\u00a0will leave important Hawai`i flora alone.<\/p>\n

So far, the news is good.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Costa Rica, miconia is a happy little plant,\u201d Puliafico said as he showed a picture of a shoulder-high, lone miconia plant growing alongside a stream there. Outside of its range \u2013 in Tahiti, in particular \u2013 the plant bosses nearly every other plant out of the forest. In infested areas in Hawai`i, miconia is often the tallest tree around and forms dense stands. Its massive leaves, which can easily grow to be several feet in length, shade out native understory.<\/p>\n

With seeds like grains of sand packed into tiny berries, a single tree can produce millions of seeds a year. Because the seeds are widely dispersed by birds and stay viable in the soil for up to eight years, detecting and eradicating incipient populations is labor intensive and costly.<\/p>\n

On all of the large main Hawaiian islands \u2013 Kaua`i, O`ahu, Maui, and Hawai`i \u2013island invasive species committees have been fighting for years to limit the plants\u2019 spread. Some islands have fared better than others. O`ahu, for example, has all but eradicated the plant. On Hawai`i island, however, the plants have established a stronghold in the Hilo area and are creeping their way along the Hamakua coast. A couple of isolated populations have also been found on the island\u2019s west side.<\/p>\n

With limited funds and staff to control the plants, many see biocontrol as the best long-term management option.<\/p>\n

At a lab in Costa Rica, Puliafico has been feeding a variety of plants to two insects known to hamper miconia\u2019s reproductivity and ability to shade out other plants. He wants to see what they will eat, what they like the best, and what they\u2019d rather die than eat.<\/p>\n

First, there\u2019s the seed-feeding weevil, Anthonomus monostigma, collected from four different miconia species. Adult weevils feed on the fruit; the larvae eat the seeds, he said.<\/p>\n

His tests so far suggest that the weevils have very strong preferences for their host plants. However, Puliafico said, he is still working on a list of native Hawaiian plants to test the weevil on.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe good news is that the Miconia nervosa, invasive in Australia and potentially coming here, has a weevil that loves its host plant. We\u2019ve got an ace in the hole,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The second insect he\u2019s testing is Euselasia chrysippe, a defoliating caterpillar, which he said have \u201cfun, little larvae that eat all together,\u201d forming great chains along the edges of leaves.<\/p>\n

The caterpillars are found only on miconia species and were identified a decade ago as a potential biocontrol agent. Puliafico said he had tested them on 34 species of plants in petri dishes. Fortunately, he said, none of them damaged any native Hawaiian species.<\/p>\n

He said he plans to test the caterpillars on even more local plants \u201cto make sure our native species are well protected, and important crop trees.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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If efforts to control the little fire ant (LFA) on Hawai`i stay as they are, the island could see damages of nearly $170 million a year, as well as 33 million sting incidents a year. That’s according to University of … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,31],"tags":[3],"class_list":["post-238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-invasives","category-september-2013","tag-teresa-dawson"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=238"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}