Because October is Stop the Ant Month in Hawaiʻi, a multi-agency effort will encourage residents to collect and submit ants from their properties to help detect and control the spread of invasive little fire ants (LFA) and other harmful pest ants that may be new to the state.
The campaign is supported by the Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Council (HISC), administered by the DLNR, in cooperation with the Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (HDAB), as well as University of Hawaiʻi programs including the Hawaiʻi Ant Lab, Coordinating Group on Alien Pest Species and the Invasive Species Committees on each island.
LFA is considered among the world’s worst invasive species because they can form supercolonies consisting of millions of stinging ants. LFA stings are painful and can cause itchy red welts that last for weeks. Stings to pets’ eyes cause injuries that may result in blindness. Unlike the tropical fire ant, a ground-nesting ant that has been present since the 1800s, LFA are tiny ants measuring 1/16 of an inch long, are orange in color and can fall from trees or vegetation to sting.
Anyone can request a free ant-collection kit by visiting www.StopTheAnt.org.
Samples can also be mailed or dropped off for identification at any of these locations:
- Big Island Invasive Species Committee, 808-933-3346, 23 East Kawili Street, Hilo, HI 96720
- Hawai‘i Ant Lab in Hilo, 808-315-5656, 875 Komohana Street #213, Hilo, HI 96720
- Hawai‘i Ant Lab in Kona, 808-209-9014, c/o CTAHR Extension Office, 79-7381 Old Mamalahoa Hwy, Kealakekua, HI 96750
- Oʻahu Invasive Species Committee: 808-266-7994, 743 Ulukahiki Street, Kailua, HI 96734
- Maui Invasive Species Committee (also accepting samples from Lānaʻi), 808-573-6472, PO Box 983, Makawao, HI 96768
- Kauaʻi Invasive Species Committee, 808-821-1490, 7370K Kuamoo Road, Kapaʻa, HI 96746
- Moloka‘i Invasive Species Committee, 808-553-4236, P.O. Box 220, Kualapuʻu, HI 967570
The Stop the Ant campaign also aims to find other, new invasive ant species that could impact Hawaiʻi, like the Red Imported Fire Ant (RIFA). RIFA are responsible for billions of dollars in agricultural and infrastructure losses and medical costs globally.
Photo credit: DLNR