Fight bugs with bugs? That appears to be the goal of a new effort by the United States Department of Agriculture. They are very excited about the discovery of a virus that kills fire ant colonies in about three months, start to finish. They are seeking partners in the private sector to develop the virus into a commercial biopesticide. This biological warfare effort is a lot better than another one they mention later in the story, but we'll get to that.
Researchers have pinpointed a naturally occurring virus that kills the ants, which arrived in the U.S. in the 1930s and now cause $6 billion in damage annually nationwide, including about $1.2 billion in Texas.
The virus caught the attention of U.S. Department of Agriculture researchers in Florida in 2002. The agency is now seeking commercial partners to develop the virus into a pesticide to control fire ants.
The virus was found in about 20 percent of fire ant fields, where it appears to cause the slow death of infected colonies.
"Certainly, we are excited about it," said Bob Vander Meer, the leader of the USDA research team in Gainesville, Fla. "I think the virus has great potential. No question about it."
The massive fire ant colonies destroy crops, damage farm and electrical equipment and hasten soil erosion. Humans and livestock are particularly vulnerable to the insect's stinging attacks.
With no natural predators to keep them in check, fire ants have spread across the U.S., where their numbers are now 10 times greater than in their native South America. They thrive in open sunny areas such as cropland, pastures, and urban lawns, and they like moisture.
My late Father-in-Law once had to change a flat tire on his motor home while in Texas. He did not see the fire ants when he sat down on the shoulder of the road. That situation was rectified at once by the ants, who let him know they were there rather forcefully. It took a while for the swelling to go down as I recall. But on to the other "solution" they are mulling for the fire ants:
The virus isn't alone in the fight against the fire ant. In South America, they have dozens of natural enemies. But researchers don't know whether those predators could be introduced here.
Among them is the small phorid fly, which seeks out fire ants and lays its eggs on them. The eggs hatch into tiny maggots that bore into the heads of their host and feed on its brains.
"The problem is we really don't know how effective these phorid flies are going to be in North America," Merchant said.
Snopes would have to revise their report yet again. And frankly, in light of that earlier post, we would not be comfortable with the introduction of brain-boring maggots for any reason. Stick with the other bugs.
When I lived in Florida I discovered, to my amazement, that I seem to be immune to fire ant bites. They raise little blisters on me, but there’s no itching or burning (I’m also not allergic to poison ivy, or haven’t been to date. Such things can change, I’m told). But they’re nasty, nasty critters and total war should be waged on these illegal insect immigrants.
Cue the PETA “genocide” protests…
Fire ants have brains? Who knew?
About a pint of gasoline poured directly on a mound works wonders. A friend insists on this method of control: find two different mounds, get 2 buckets, place shovel-full of ants from each mound in different buckets, then pour the ants onto the opposite mound from where they came. He swears this causes an ant war, but that seems like a lot of trouble to go through when some gas works well enough.
Vicious little bastards. They’re all over Florida now.
Amdro seems to work well, they scarf it up like hounds snatching unguarded burgers at a bar-b-q.