First Invasive Colony of Fire Ants Found in France, Posing Threat to Humans and the Environment

Fire ants and their first invasive colony was found in France, and poses a threat to humans and the environment, according to UK media reporting this week.

The fire ant super colony consisting of extremely large number of ants is already spreading around the French city of Toulon, located in the country's southern Mediterranean coast.

With this, panic is also reportedly spreading for some people.

The specific reason how the tiny insects arrived on the French southern coastline is still unclear at this time.

One of the most likely causes is through maritime transport into Southern France.

In the United States, this was the case when fire ants arrived in the North American nation from Argentina in the 1930s, wherein cargo stowaways are the most likely culprit.

These introductions are believed to be accidental.

Fire ant is an umbrella term to depict the several species of ants belonging to the genus Solenopsis and the family Formicidae.

Consisting of over 200 species, the invading insects in France are also known as electric ants (Wasmannia auropunctata) or little fire ants, which are native to Central America and South America.

Over the past century, W. auropunctata has spread to different continents worldwide.

France Fire Ant Super Colony

Fears are lingering in France over the spread of the invasive fire ants after a super colony was found in the European country for the first time in history, according to Ireland's Independent.ie news website.

The stings of these invasive insects can cause blindness to pets like cats and dogs if they are stung near their eyes.

The feisty insects are also known for causing immense pain to humans when nipped.

Olivier Blight, a researcher from the University of Avignon and the first person to identify the pest in France, told Le Figaro the ants were only identified now but has been in the country for around four or five years already with a population, ranging from several hundred thousands or event millions in over 2.5 acres of land, as cited by The Telegraph.

Although they move slowly, W. auropunctata can reach a population of 90 million individuals per acre of land, Blight added, as cited by the UK news outlet.

What are Electric Ants?

Little fire ants are reportedly responsible for reducing species diversity and overall abundance of flying and tree-dwelling insects, as well as destroying arachnid populations.

In the Galapagos Island, electric ants eat tortoises' hatchlings and even attacks the eyes of adult tortoises.

In addition, these invasive insects could be the "greatest ant species threat" in the Pacific region, according to the Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI), a non-profit organization.

In terms of global spread, the risk of introduction is high since it is likely to be transported in soil and other plant parts in tropical parts of Earth.

In spite of their worldwide track records, it seems fire ants are unsuccessful when it comes to cold climates, CABI added.