An Electric Pest

Scientific Name: Wasmannia auropunctata

Common Name: Electric Ant

Geographic area of origin & current distribution:

The electric ant is native to Central and South America. These ants have a significant invasive history, having been introduced to Africa, North America and six Pacific Island groups including the Galapagos, Hawaii, New Caledonia and the Solomon Islands.

Basic physical description and physical characteristics:

Electric ants:

• are tiny, about 1.5 mm long
• are light to golden brown in color all over
• are usually slow moving 
• are social - they like to be with each other, often in heaps
• Electric ants do not have nests. They establish colonies anywhere and have been found under stones, in garden waste, leaf mould, soil, trees, swimming pools and water courses, and may be in wall cavities, clothing, bedding or camping gear
• can be found in wet or dry conditions
•  Electric ants also like water - they may ´jump´ into swimming pools and form a 'raft'.

Describe the organism’s fundamental ecological niche:

Electric ants are primarily pests, which feed on a variety of plants, and animals. 

List and describe, in detail, some of the damage the “pest” species you chose has caused, whether ecologic, economic, health, etc., or any combination of damage types:

•  Electric ants compete with other ant species within the affected area.
•  Electric ants make up 90% of ant populations in invaded catchments in New Caledonia. They are believed to have caused a decrease in reptile populations in New Caledonia and in the Galapagos.
• The ants may sting and even blind domestic pets. Their sting is very painful at first, and can last causing itching for up to 3 days.
• In agricultural and residential areas, the electric ant may be a great pest to humans by reaching high densities and stinging people working in fields as well as in and around their homes.

Research and describe some of the control the techniques that have been employed to try to combat or eradicate or limit the population growth of your identified “pest” species:

 Biosecurity Queensland manages the National Electric Ant Eradication Program. The program is based on three fundamental activities: surveillance to find the ants, treatment to kill the ants, containment to stop them spreading. The local community and businesses play an essential role in stopping the spread of electric ants.

Techniques to prevent electric ant infestation:

•     peanut butter lures
•         peanut butter-lured pit-fall traps
•          hotdog sausage lures
•          gutter traps
•          in-house traps
•          Canopy traps.

Design and outline your own Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategy that you would use to control the “pest” population of the organism you identified.  Include the resources, methods, and sequence of steps you would carry out:

I would implement natural predators into the Electric Ant’s natural environment, and also utilize pathogens, natural oils, and environmentally safe insecticides such as pyriproxyfen.

List the bibliographic resources you used for your research and include and URL’s from web sites you used: 

http://www.daff.qld.gov.au/documents/Biosecurity_EnvironmentalPests/ElectricAnts-DeclaredPest.pdf

http://www.daff.qld.gov.au/4790_6453.htm

http://www.issg.org/database/species/ecology.asp?si=58&fr=1&sts=sss

"Super-Sized" Schools

In this insightful and passionate Ted Talk video, speaker and Chef Ann Cooper stresses the importance of healthy cafeteria lunches and the growing dietary problems within our nation’s schools. America is a nation which is underfed and undernourished. We have become acclimated to the processed and imitation foods which have actually become staples of the American diet. As a student who attends Westlake High School I can completely agree with Ms. Cooper’s sentiment to improve school lunches. Most mornings I leave home without breakfast, and after trudging through the thunderous halls of Westlake for about 4 hours, I am ready and deserve a meal which will give me energy. But unfortunately after consuming the usual salty and processed foods served in one of the various lines with fancy but false signs looming over the giant doors, I leave the cafeteria lethargically and somewhat content. The facts Ms. Cooper gave were also very startling; 1 out of 3 Caucasian kids will get diabetes, and 1 out of 2 minority children will too. Having these foods not only fills children with salt and sugar, but with bad habits and values as well. Serving processed foods in school cafeterias makes children more accustom to “engineered foods” and teaches them that these foods are normal. Promoting better foods in school will foster better eating habits at home, and vice versa. Every day I attend school, I am inundated with food choices, but unfortunately none of them are healthy ones. I believe we need more food activist like Ms. Cooper, because even small menu adjustments like implementing a salad bar can drastically change how students perceive food and their health.