Victoria’s invasive ant surveillance program
About the program
Finding invasive ants early, including red imported fire ants (RIFA; Solenopsis invicta), is key to stopping them from spreading and becoming established. As trade continues to grow, the risk of invasive ants entering our state is likely to increase.
Agriculture Victoria leads biosecurity efforts with businesses and the community to protect Victoria from harmful pests, diseases and weeds, while also preventing new ones from entering and spreading. As part of this work, Agriculture Victoria runs an invasive ant surveillance program. This helps the early detection and eradication of RIFA and other invasive ant species before they can become established in Victoria.
RIFA is one of the most successful invasive species, ranked as the fifth most costly invasive species in the world. If it became established in Victoria, this ant species could seriously affect people's health, the environment, agriculture, infrastructure and our day-to-day life.
Across Australia, the negative impacts and costs of controlling RIFA could reach $2 billion annually and lead to around 600,000 medical visits. Since RIFA was first found in Brisbane in 2001, a nationally cost-shared eradication program has helped slow its spread. However, there is still a risk that it could enter Victoria from Queensland or New South Wales through the importation of host material from infested and movement control areas.
The program aims for early detection and eradication of invasive ants. Each year, the program surveys around 250 locations across Victoria to check for RIFA and other invasive ant species. It also ensures that the importation of goods considered to be RIFA host material meets the necessary requirements before being imported into Victoria.
Other invasive ants that are under eradication in Australia and that are covered by the invasive ant surveillance program include the:
- yellow crazy ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes)
- browsing ant (Lepisiota frauenfeldi)
- African black sugar ant (Lepisiota incisa)
- electric ant (Wasmannia auropunctata).
Program objectives
The objectives of Victoria’s invasive ant surveillance program (Figure 1) are:
- Regularly identify and assess areas in Victoria that are most at risk of being invaded by RIFA and other invasive ant species.
- Survey these high-risk areas and identify any ant species that are found.
- Inspect RIFA host material imported into Victoria to support market access requirements.
- Increase awareness of RIFA and how to report suspected sightings among Victorian government agencies and industries that may be affected.
- Increase the capacity to identify and process the growing number of suspected RIFA reports.
