Dear worker ants,

Clyde went to set out pb chopsticks this afternoon at the house that is two
away from the Morigaki residence. Sure enough, the Japanese garden that
makes up the front yard was infested with Wasmannia. We don't have
permission to survey the gravel yard in between the two yet. The owner of
the Japanese garden house also mentioned that the former nursery owner
(same one I mentioned earlier) had built three houses down the street in
this new subdivision so he may have put in infested plants there as well.
Hopefully this subdivision is aas new a it looks so the ants haven't gone
far. It makes me wonder where else he supplied plants to. I have talked
to him before and he dosen't volunteer a lot of information about that
subject. It may be partly because he had no reason to remember the places.
Looks like we will be Waiakea Heights for a while.

Pat Conant

Dear fellow worker ants,

Thanks to good investigative work by detectives D. Gruner aand Katie
Morigaki, I have confimed a new infestation of Wasmannia in Waiakea Heights
subdivision.
Clyde Hirayama and I put out peanut butter chopsticks around the perimeter
of the property on 12/14/00 and in all the landscaped areas. We found
Wasmannia only in the front yard, between the driveway and the neighboring
property. This area is all centipede grass aand is about 5m x 6m. The
adjacent yard on the Hamakua side is all gravel but needs to be checked.
Mrs. Morigaki told me she got a palm (that was planted in that area) from
the former owner of wwhat I know to be the oldest known infestation (a
nursery in Panaewa that has changed hands many times since). We believe we
are close to eradicating the ant on that property.
Unfortunately she had given a palm to a neighbor two houses away (same
Hamakua side) so we plan to check that property soon. We hope to apply
amdro asap on any infestations we find in Waiakea Heights. I neglected to
ask her how long ago she got the palm so I will need to do that.

Pat Conant

----- Forwarded by Pete Oboyski/BRD/CONT/USGS/DOI on 12/15/00 08:59 AM

Please post this announcement.

Thank you,
Corrie Saux

ANT COURSE 2001
Website: http://www.calacademy.org/research/entomology/Ant_Course/

COURSE OBJECTIVES.--THE ANT COURSE is designed primarily for
systematists, ecologists, behaviorists, conservation biologists, and other biologists
whose research responsibilities require a greater understanding of ant
taxonomy. It emphasizes the classification and identification of more
than fifty ant genera of North America. Lectures will include background
information on the ecology, life histories and evolution of ants. Field
trips are structured to teach collecting and sampling techniques and
associated lab work provides instruction on specimen preparation,
sorting and labeling. Information on equipment/supply vendors, literature, and
people resources is also presented.

COURSE SIGNIFICANCE.-- This course will provide students with 1) the
confidence and ability to identify the major ant genera of North America; 2)
an understanding of modern specimen processing and curation techniques;
3) an appreciation for the biological diversity of ants, and 4) experience
keying to the species level.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION.--THE ANT COURSE will be taught from August 5
15, 2001 at the Southwestern Research Station in Portal Arizona. The
Station is centered amid the richest ant fauna in North America. This will be an
ongoing course, offered annually or every other year.

PARTICIPANT ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA.--THE ANT COURSE is open to all
interested individuals. Priority will be given to those biologists for whom the
course will have a significant impact on their research. An entomological
background is not required. We aim to include students with a diverse
interest in biology, including ant systematics, ecology, behavioral biology
and conservation. The high instructor to student ratio will allow students
to receive individual attention. THE ANT COURSE, presented in English,
is limited to 20 participants

INSTRUCTORS
Brian Fisher (Coordinator), Dept. of Entomology, California Academy of
Sciences, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA 94118-4599, Tel:
415-750-7240, bfisher@calacademy.org

Stefan Cover (Coordinator), Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard
University, Cambridge, MA 02138, Tel: 617 496 5614,
cover@oeb.harvard.edu

Gary Alpert, University Entomologist, Harvard University - EH&S
Department, 46 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138

Mark Deyrup Archbold Biological Station, P.O. Box 2057, Lake Placid,
Florida 33862

Bob Johnson, Dept. of Biology, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona,
85287-1501

Jack Longino, Lab I, The Evergreen State College, Olympia WA 98505 USA,
360-867-6511

Bill McKay, Dept. of Biological Sciences, University of Texas, El Paso,
TX 79968

Roy Snelling, Section of Entomology, Natural History Museum of, Los
Angeles County, 900 Exposition Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90007

Mike Kaspari, Dept. of Zoology, University of Oklahoma, Norman OK
73019-0235

Phil Ward, Department of Entomology, University of California, One
Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616

Special Guests
Barry Bolton, Department of Entomology, The Natural History Museum (not
confirmed)
Bert H=F6lldobler, Zoologisches Institut, Universit=E4t W=FCrzburg (not
confirmed)
Jeanette Wheeler, Tuscon, AZ (not confirmed)
Edward O. Wilson, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University

FEES.
Tuition for the 10-day COURSE is $250 for current graduate students and
$400 for non-students to be paid by all participants on being informed of
their acceptance. Tuition covers partial overhead costs of the workshop. In
addition, Southwestern Research Station (SWRS) fees for this period,
covering dormitory room and board, are $360, payable to SWRS personnel
on departure. Transportation costs between home and Tucson (air) or SWRS
(auto) are to be borne by all participants or their home institutions.

HOW TO APPLY
For application forms and additional information, please visit the web
site:

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: MARCH 1, 2001
_____________________________________
APPLICATION FOR THE ANT COURSE
Southwestern Research Station (SWRS), Portal, AZ August 5-15, 2001

Name: Sex: Male Female (circle)

Professional address:

Position: Highest university degree, year granted:

Phone number: E-mail address:

Name, address, phone number of nearest relative:

Reason(s) for wishing to take course:

The COURSE is limited to 20 participants. Selection of participants
will be
carried out by committee and based on your reasons for wishing to take
the
course at this time. Because the COURSE is planned to be offered yearly
or
biennially, persons not selected for this session are urged to apply
again.

PLEASE SEND THIS APPLICATION WITH A SELF-ADDRESSED ENVELOPE TO:

THE ANT COURSE
Dept. of Entomology
California Academy of Sciences
Golden Gate Park
San Francisco, CA 94118-4599

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: MARCH 1, 2001

You will be advised of receipt of the application by the self-addressed
postcard and will be notified of your acceptance to the Course by APRIL
15, 2001

______________________________
Brian Fisher
Assistant Curator
Dept. of Entomology
California Academy of Sciences
Golden Gate Park
San Francisco, CA 94118
tel: 415 750-7240
FAX: 415 750 7228
bfisher@calacademy.org
http://www.calacademy.org/research/entomology/Ant_Course/

For those of you at the meeting, please read through my notes for additions
- deletions - or other comments.
For those who could not attend, here is what was discussed.

Hawaii Ant Group meeting ? 12 December 2000

Attendants:
Pat Conant (HDOA)
Paul Banko (USGS-BRD)
Ellen VanGelder (USGS-BRD / UH)
Dan Gruner (UH)
Frank Howarth ( Bishop Museum)
Lloyd Loope (USGS-BRD)
Neil Reimer (HDOA)
Pete Oboyski (USGS-BRD / UH)

+ Wasmannia: K-12 program (Dan Gruner)
Dan provided a map of areas sampled for ants by school kids. Included was
a table indicating how often species were in encountered. The mapped area
is limited to Hilo pending the results from Keaau and Pahoa schools. Some
highlights include: 21 species were collected; 1 new Wasmannia location was
found; 1 new Solenopsis species, not known from Hawaii, was encountered;
and another undetermined genus of ant was discovered. Dan commented on the
amount of time required to sort and identify the thousands of ants
collected. He hopes future efforts will have the kids be more active in the
early rounds of sorting specimens. He hopes the curriculum he develops can
be handed to teachers and carried on after he is finished with the project.
Some discussion ensued as to how the program would be carried on in Dan's
absence ? It may be difficult to find more students to pick it up and
expand it to other islands, and it is clear that some sort of taxonomic
expertise is necessary for the teachers to consult with.

On a similar note, Ellen passed around copies of some study materials
("Finding the Little Fire Ant") developed by Michelle Archy of the
Harbinger Institute to be used with school groups. The materials include
background on LFA, instructions to conduct surveys, identification keys
that filter out other ant species, and a self quiz. All are encouraged to
review the materials and provide comments (via Ellen). It is hoped that
the materials will be employed this coming spring.

+ Hawaii Island Journal article (Dan Gruner)
Dan approached the Hawaii Island Journal (formerly Kau Landing) about
publishing an article regarding his efforts with school kids (as discussed
above). The article was written by Jude Todd (staff writer) for the
December 1-15, 2000 addition of the paper. Dan received 8 calls as a
result of the article.

+ Volcano Watch article (Dan Gruner, Pete Oboyski)
Volcano Watch is an article written by USGS scientists and published in the
Hilo Herald-Tribune newspaper, as well as being distributed electronically
to other sites. Once per month articles are written by biologists at USGS.
Pete solicited Dan to write a review of Wasmannia and encourage people to
report locations they believe Wasmannia to exist. Pat Conant agreed to
field calls regarding possible Wasmannia infestations provided the article
clearly states how to distinguish the ants (so that he does not get flooded
with calls on every ant found). Dan seeks feedback and comments on the
article. The article will either appear in a February addition of Volcano
Watch or in a new series to be produced by a joint effort of USGS-BRD and
Forest Service.

+ Wasmannia Update (Pat Conant)
There has not been much recent activity on the Wasmannia battle line. Pat
discover a method of using blowers to disperse Amdro against LFA. This
method appears good for penetrating areas of uluhe and other tough-to-reach
reach places, besides being a time saver. With the few trials he has been
able to attempt, Pat does not feel that Extinguish is nearly as effective
as Amdro (the ants seem to pass by without notice of the bait). Papaya and
Lychee growers have not been treated lately because they do not want to
take their crops out of harvest for one year. Pat will soon have the help
of 4 workers from PPC ? chemical/mechanical control now that they are
finishing their banana bunchytop work. Pat feels that some of the smaller
infestations have been eradicated (no ants detected in 3 successive
surveys), but that larger areas tend be cases of containment. A big
frustration is areas he cannot treat, therefore border control is all that
is possible for now. No new Wasmannia detections have occurred for several
months as a result of inter-island plant inspections.

Related, still no one has found out about the use of containerized baits in
fruit orchards. Glen Tanaguchi may be using containers for ants in
pineapple. This needs to be followed up on. It is likely that containers
would have to be spaced very close for effective control, but at least it
may be an alternative to non-treatment.

+ Red Imported Fire Ant (Ellen VanGelder)
Ellen provided several handouts regarding risk assessment and rapid
response for RIFA in Hawaii. Earlier she had emailed the Antlist
listserver requesting comments for a proposal to EPA Wetlands program
regarding enhancing Hawaii's prevention/rapid response plan (that she and
Lloyd are currently scripting). The proposal identifies purpose, needs,
objectives, schedule of tasks, and list of products. The proposal has now
been submitted (for a copy contact Ellen). Ellen suggested using the CGAPS
Invasive Species Assessment Worksheet as the format to develop the plan.

Discussion: Much discussion ensued about what is needed in Hawaii for
better risk awareness, prevention, and response to RIFA arrival. Some
highlights include: What pesticide is/can be used against RIFA now or in
emergencies; Who are the stakeholders in this battle and how to get their
input; How to provide information to the legislature and stakeholders; How
to handle potential RIFA calls with limited personnel; Are better place of
origin inspections possible by urging Feds to enforce regulations; Can
surveys be conducted in high risk areas in Hawaii; Would a "Christmas
Aliens Count" (like a Christ Bird Count) help raise public awareness; Can
we ensure that the Maui entomologist position will be refilled and get the
Kauai entomologist position reinstated.

Some possible answers include: Get ants included into the presentation that
Fred Krauss & Duane Nelson are giving to the legislature on alien species.
Ellen was suggested as the person to give the presentation, but it would
good if Neil can get permission to be present to field questions. At the
very least, the idea that ants are/can be a huge problem in Hawaii needs to
be put "on the radar screen" of the legislature. The chair of DOA or higher
may need to be lobbied to refill the Maui position and reinstate the Kauai
position. A concise information package needs to be assembled to provide
consistent, expert information to the legislature, stakeholders, and the
public. Meetings with individual stakeholders will allow each to state
their concerns and potential involvement in RIFA issues.

Lloyd passed around an article from the December 1, 2000 issue of Pacific
Business News, "Fire ant inspection program stings shippers," and his
published response. The article is a reminder that economics needs to be
part of the discussion when proposing measures against alien species.

+ Mauna Kea Ant work (Pete Oboyski)
Pete reviewed the progress of ant studies on Mauna Kea and provided a map
of species' distributions. This was the 4th seasonal survey done it 2
years (June & December 1999, June and December 2000). Of note were the
high occurrence of Cardiocondyla venustula at higher elevation. No great
range expansions appear to have occurred in the past two years, though both
years were particularly dry for the southwest slope of Mauna Kea where
surveys took place. Species found during the survey were Cardiocondyla
venustula, Linepithema humile, Pheidole megacephala, and Monomorium
pharaonis. With recent rains there is a chance that ants will expand into
areas where vegetation has previously been under drought conditions. The
objectives of the study are to map the seasonal distributions of the ant
species on Mauna Kea in relation to palila habitat and vegetation types,
and to provide baseline data for control measures.

This is true. There is ample parking at Kaka'ako Park. Take Ohe St. to
the end of the road (makai end). Make a right into the parking lot. Then
walk about 100 yards back to the HDOA office. Sorry for the inconvenience.

aloha,
Neil Reimer

A note from Duane Nelson concerning the next CGAPS meeting indicates that,
because of construction, parking at HDOA Quarantine is tight to
non-existent. Duane recommends that we park at the Kaka'ako Waterfront
Recreation Area on Cooke St. Unless Neil corrects this, be prepared.

Cheers,
Frank

Hi all - here's an agenda for tomorrow. -ellen
AGENDA

1. Wasmannia
a. Update on Dan's Wasmannia work on big island
b. Update on Wasmannia class activity on Maui
c. Update on Big Island Wasmannia situation from Pat
2. RIFA Prevention
a. EPA preproposal (for 2001 funds) for RIFA prevention
b. Work plan for EPA 1999 grant
- Timeline for work
- Plan Outline
- Work Plan for entomol.assistant

c. Outreach
d. Involvement of others in the planning process/ant meetings
3. Other?

Hi all - just a reminder that Tues. 12th (9:00am, same place) is the
next ant meeting. Anyone want to carpool with taxi from the airport? I
get into Honolulu at 8:20am. -ellen

Hi,

Peter O asked me to write an article for the Hilo Tribune Herald's "Volcano
Watch" feature which appears every Sunday. The weekly essay is about 600
words. Normally the column focuses on a geological issue, but occasionally
there is one on biological material. Peter provided the following helpful
outline:

- No native ants
- How many now
- When/how they arrived
- Some basic ant biology
- What they eat
- Where they live
- Social systems
- Why worry about ants
- urban, agro & natural systems
- Little fire ant
- Around the world
- In Hawaii
- Description
- Control efforts
- Who/how to contact

Attached is my shot at it. I have deviated from the outline slightly. You
can bring your suggestions to the meeting on Tuesday, as I will not have a
chance to do any revisions before then. Or email will be fine.

Aloha
Dan
Attachment Converted: "c:\eudora\attach\Volcano Watch.rtf"

Ellen:

For what its worth, a few comments from introduced ant sufferers in
Galapagos!

From our experience, ants are principally imported on fruits, however,
it is relatively easy for them to come in on non-organic products. In
this case, perhaps a risk analysis would not be very useful. If there is
a good quarantine system in place and inspectors are trained to look for
RIFA  and are aware of the states it could be imported from, then
that is all that can probably be done to minimize the risk of it entering
Hawaii.  Perhaps,  more money should be invested on setting up
an early detection program involving  key community groups, in
addition to setting up a monitoring program using baits. By way of
intensive education campaigns the public would become aware of the
dangers of this species arriving in Hawaii, how it could get there and
would be more likely to report the presence of this species and cooperate
in the monitoring program. We are currently setting up
something similar and have found that farmers and schools are willing to
help out with the monitoring programs in order to avoid the introduction
of more aggressive species. I seem to recall that something similar was
done for Wasmannia in Hawaii?

Saludos
Charlotte

Ellen,

Looks good to me. You are waymore familiar with it so I can't think of
anything to add. Item 5 will undoubtedly show that it can survive
everywhere people are and beyond. I should also show how far it will go
into natural areas so that's a plus. Are there areas here where it is less
than 10" rainfall so it won't colonize? Is there an upper limit to the
amount of rainfall they tolerate?
If so, that would need to be factored in with temp. effect on distribution.

Thanks for your effort and see you Tuesday.

Pat Conant

I agree Steve. Actually, Ellen and I went to California last April and met
with the California Department of Food and Agriculture Red Imported fire
ant Task Force. They showed us the steps they were taking to "erradicate"
RIFA in California. This was very early in their program when RIFA was
restricted to Orange Co. and the group was still developing strategy. We
were taken around to several nurserys and field sites to see what they are
doing in the field. However, things have changed since then. RIFA is now
more widespread. It may be time to repeat this trip and look at what is
being done in the different counties with specific commodities.

Hi all - comments from David Duffy, for your info and comments. -ellen

From: David Duffy <dduffy@hawaii.edu>
Subject: Re: comments requested!!
To: EVG <evangeld@hawaii.edu>
Date: Fri, 1 Dec 2000 10:18:08 -1000

I would do a risk assessment focused on the ants, but for Oahu.We
need info for the main commercial center as it may have a different
cargo than Maui

Steve - thanks! Neil? Bernarr? Any thoughts on this?

Stephen_E_Miller@r1.fws.gov wrote:

> Ellen and Lloyd,
>
> Your outline sounds like a great proposal. I am under the impression that
> all of the risk assessment work will be done here in Hawaii. It might be
> worth while adding something about assess risk at the other end of the
> line. Perhaps a list of products that are coming in from fire ant areas on
> the mainland could be used to structure a series of mainland site visits
> that look at product processing and handling relative to the risk of
> getting fire ants in with the product, and possible methods of pre-shipment
> control. I suspect that California Ag may have information on this or may
> be a willing participant in the proposal to carry out this aspect. This
> may be overreaching for your current efforts, but it seems like an obvious
> aspect of the risk assessment.
>
> Stephen_E_Miller@fws.gov
> Ecosystem Conservation Coordinator
> U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
> Pacific Islands Office
> 300 Ala Moana Blvd.
> Room 3-122
> Honolulu, Hawaii 96850
> Phone: (808) 541-3441 FAX: (808) 541-3470

Hi again all - it seems the antlist is up and running again, so could
you respond to my request for comments via the list? thanks!! -ellen

Hi all
As some of you know, Lloyd and I submitted a pre-proposal to
EPA wetlands program, for more fire ant prevention funds. We were
notified recently that weíve been asked to submit a full proposal (due
before our ant meeting hence this attempt to get your
comments/thoughts via email). The pre-proposal basically contained
Lloyd and my best shot at what we thought were additional tasks needed
to strengthen Hawaiiís prevention/rapid response plan for the RIFA (i.e.
being developed with the EPA FY00 Wetland Grant funds we already
received).
These tasks are:
1.) conduct a RIFA risk assessment for goods shipped to Hawaii from RIFA
infested States (in order to identify goods to focus planned
inspection/treatments on). Risk Analyst at $50,000/yr x 2yrs =
$100,000
2.) analyze the State and federal policy framework within which Hawaiiís
RIFA prevention/quick response plan will be initiated, and provide
subsequent recommendations of alternative policy initiatives where
deemed needed to obtain a high degree of success of an implemented
plan. $50,000/yr, 2yr @ 1/4FTP = $25,000 (done with in-kind
contributions)
3.) expand and coordinate public education efforts to include various
community groups, public agencies, legislative bodies, and the private
sector (businesses, business associations, and various industry related
groups) in an effort to expand awareness/early detection, and foster
support of the community for prevention/quick response activities.
Outreach Coordinator at $50,000/yr, 1yr @ FTP = $50,000
4.) conduct an economic assessment of a RIFA invasion in Hawaii (for
establishment of prevention as priority within the political arena).
Economist at $50,000/yr, 1yr = $50,000
5.) identify temperature-dependant RIFA range limits for the State of
Hawaii with an adjusted computer model originally established for
analysis of RIFA range limits for the mainland United States, using
climate data obtained from the NOAA database network (in order to best
prioritize early detection activities). System Modeler at $3,000/mo,
2mos = $6,000

My main concern right now is with item number 1, above. Our initial
thought for this was that we would look at all types of goods coming in
from rifa infested states and determine the risk associated with them,
so we would know where to focus inspections or treatments. I talked to
Neil about this task this morning. There are some problems with it ñ
mainly, to determine the amount of risk associated with non-agriculture
items such as shipping containers of, say, patio furniture, or boxes of
peoples personal goods, may not be worth the cost. Neil thought that if
RIFA were in these types of goods, it would likely be single queens (not
colonies), and the likelihood of finding a single queen amongst the
goods, even for experienced/trained inspectors, would be small. He
thought that if we indeed wanted a risk assessment, it may be best to
focus on items that are high risk (more likely to contain colonies).
However, a lot of the work that would be conducted for this may be being
covered already with the pest risk assessment currently being conducted
at Kahului airport, on agriculture items shipped in from the mainland.
Neil suggested that maybe there are other things to ask for $$ for that
might be more valuable, such as activities dealing with early
detection/rapid response (a survey to determine if we have incipient
populations already?), or activities associated with getting goods
treated before they get here (though maybe this is partly covered by
task 2?).

So that's where we are. What are your thoughts on a risk assessment?
Any ideas on other additional tasks that we might want to do
instead? Keep in mind that we already received money to put together a
prevention/rapid response plan, and that EPA wetlands grants will fund
activities that strengthen wetland plans or programs, but not actual
implementation of these. Lloyd does not think EPA will mind if we
submit a full proposal with tasks altered somewhat from those in the
pre-proposal. -Ellen

Gordon - FYI, i tried sending the message again yesterday, but I never received
it (via the antlist). I tried sending it again at about 7:15 this morning,
without the attachment. It appears not to have gotten through. For now, I'll
just send it direct to members, but just wanted to let you know what was up.
See you on the 12th! -ellen

Gordon Nishida wrote:

> Hi Ellen:
>
> It appears this message didn't get through. Possibly it was because the
> computer guys changed the mail system over to another server this morning.
> Another possibility is that the attachment was sent as machine code added
> to the message rather than a straight attachment. Could you try to resend?
> Thanks,
> Gordon
>

Hi all - A concern Lloyd brought up is that if biocontrol options are viewed as
truely able to keep ant populations at a minimum, people may not be that
concerned about preventing introduction of this species into Hawaii. -ellen

Hi ant-listers,

Dan, Pete, Paul, and Neil have all raised points about likely
(in)efficacy of phorids. I agree with most of their points. I've
also read that phorids are effective only in that they give the
native ants a boost in competitive interactions. If this is the
case, phorids would likely have little impact on ants in Hawai'i.
However, if something else--e.g., Vespula--is competing with ants in
Hawai'i, phorids might have an impact, but not necessarily a
desirable one from an overall conservation viewpoint.

Vinson's comments via Dan that S. invicta is heavily
dependent on mealybugs is very interesting. I wonder how he
determines their *dependence* and over what part of S. invicta's
range they co-occur. Given that a hallmark of invasive ants is
their ability to utilize a variety of food resources wherever
they've invaded, I would not place too much hope on
broad-scale control of S. invicta or any other ant with this
approach.

Lori

At 07:35 PM 11/17/00 GMT, you wrote:
[snip}
>A recent paper by Lloyd Morrison addresses this topic of phorid effects on
>RIFA competitiveness. I haven't read it carefully, but basically it agrees
>with Dan's comments. He didn't find phorid presence to reduce competitive
>ability of S. invicta with S. geminata. He suggested that multiple [snip]

I have mixed feelings about the introduction of Solenopsis-specific
phorids. Morrison's studies were done in the laboratory and one must
always be careful projecting results from lab studies to field situations.
I'm by no means an expert on these flies, but my impression is that they
only have a small impact on Solenopsis colonies in Brazil. My
understanding from discussions with researchers in Brazil is that S.
invicta populations in the field are impacted more by competition with
other ant species than by any of the biological control agents found to date.

I also feel that the discussions on importing these flies to Hawaii is a
bit premature. We have the luxury of being able to "sit back" and see what
transpires with the release of the phorids and other bc agents against S.
invicta on the mainland.

Hey Paul, welcome to the Hawaii Ant Group.

Is that our name? Have we ever decided on a name? I know we were throwing
around Hawaii Ant Group (HAG), and Hawaii Ant Working Group (HAWG), any
others?

aloha,

Neil Reimer

Are they specific to Solenopsis? Possibly.
Will they do much to control them? Probably not.
So what's the point?

It is not enough to do something just to say we are doing something. It is
like the dark ages of medicine when leaches were used to remove "bad
blood," rather than understanding the disease. At least those doctors had
the excuse of not having the knowledge of modern medicine. Today we have
the ability to understand food webs and ecosystem interactions, so it is
unconscionable to look at each pest in isolation. It is the responsibility
of researchers to understand all the possible methods of ameliorating the
effects of pests and report their results clearly.

For some agencies there is a requirement to report alternatives to a
particular control method and then describe why each is less feasible.
This should be standard practice for Biological Control - list alternative
control measures, their costs (financial, non-target risk, ecosystem
function), and benefits. A cost (financial) to benefit (potential control
of pest) ratio analysis usually falls out in favor of BioControl because
costs are low (even with host range tests as they are currently done) and
because POTENTIAL benefits are enticing. I wonder how real some of these
analyses are? Do they consider long-term impacts? Irreversibility? And
all the other factors Frank highlights in his landmark paper?

Admittedly, Hawaii seems like a good place to try these flies (since we
have no native ants, or any social insects). However, the Hawaiian
Phoridae are virtually unknown. I doubt there would be any competitive
exclusion with Hawaiian phorids, but there are so many groups that are so
poorly known that we can never be sure of non-target impact. Perhaps,
though, this is an occasion that something of minimal benefit is better
than nothing at all. Or is it?

$0.02

Pete

P.S. "Cannibal flies" is just another example of how poorly our field is
understood by non-entomologists. Or perhaps how impoverished the
understanding our language has become.

I had heard the same thing about the ants switching. The theory was
that lower temperatures would make ant nocturnal foraging less
efficient. This may be a start however.--David

Hi,

This is Paul Krushelnycky, I have recently added myself to the antlist.
Greetings to all those who know me, and I hope to meet the rest of you soon.

A recent paper by Lloyd Morrison addresses this topic of phorid effects on
RIFA competitiveness. I haven't read it carefully, but basically it agrees
with Dan's comments. He didn't find phorid presence to reduce competitive
ability of S. invicta with S. geminata. He suggested that multiple species
of phorids that attack different sizes of workers might be more effective,
however the phorids don't seem to attack in areas where competition is
occurring, and invicta (and geminata) seem to be quite good at altering
behavior to compensate for the presence of phorids.

The reference is:
Morrison, L.W. 2000. Mechanisms of Pseudacton parasitoid effects on
exploitative and interference competition in host Solenopsis ants. Annals of
the Entomological Society of America 93(4): 841-849.

Paul

Phorid ant parasitoids are very specific to ants, and since we lack any
native ants that these flies might shift to, it seems a good bet. In these
studies, the researchers are quite confident the flies are specific to
Solenopsis fire ants. Of course, no new introductions are desirable, but I
believe there are cases where the great benefits clearly outweigh the the
slim risks (I would also argue the melastomes may be another example, as
there are no closely related natives).

However, I spoke with Fred Vinson at the ICE in Brazil, and he feels quite
strongly that these phorids will have very little impact on the invasive
populations of invicta. He says the flies stall the foraging of 1-2% of the
workers, and the ants quickly learn to forage at night to avoid the flies.
He believes (sorry I do not have the references to back up these points)
that competition with other "nasty" ants keeps invicta in check in its
native range. In the US, the native ants just are not nasty enough!
Furthermore, many of the natives ants are so reduced in range and number,
they are unlikely to complement the fly to create effective control.

Vinson noted that the fire ants depend heavily on an introduced mealy bug
for carbohydrates. He suggests this may be the place to target control.
This mealy bug may be very influential in the huge population sizes the ant
attains in the South. But this becomes more problematical for biological
control in Hawaii. We have native mealy bugs, but also a whole range of
introduced honeydew producing Homopterans.

my $0.02
dan

PS Isn't a "cannibal" something that dines on its own kind? So how are
these flies cannibals??!?

Hi all - Neil reserved the PPQ conference room for us for the 12th
9:00-12:00. Anyone with agenda ideas, by all means please email.
Topics I've got so far:
1. update on Dan's wasmannia work on big island
2. EPA proposal (for 2001 funds) for RIFA prevention work
3. The RIFA prevention plan
-Ellen
--
Ellen VanGelder
USGS-BRD, Haleakala Field Station
P.O. Box 369
Makawao, HI 96768
808-572-4472

Hi folks - I spoke with Dan Gruner not long ago, and he mentioned that
he thought we should have another ant group meeting in the near future.
I agree. What does everyone think? Early December works best for me.
How does, say, the morning of Dec.8th, sound? -ellen
--
Ellen VanGelder
USGS-BRD, Haleakala Field Station
P.O. Box 369
Makawao, HI 96768
808-572-4472

Pete - We usually order it through VanWater & Rogers, in Honolulu. They may know where you can get it on big
island. Also, I've been told that on Maui, Brewer carries it (perhaps they have a store on big island?).
-Ellen

Anters,

I need to obtain some MaxForce. I have checked many garden shops and stores on the Big Island to no avail. Does anyone know of a local source or do I need to contact a distributor?

For now I need to control a few smallish areas of Argentines at Pohakuloa Training Area. Eventually I will want to do some larger control efforts, but for now it is for areas around buildings.

Pete

Lori - FYI, at the last red-imported fire ant conference (April'00) it
was pointed out by one of the USDA/ARS folks (cant remember who exactly),
that S.wagneri is not the accepted name for S.invicta. I believe it is a
"proposed" name change, but it is not know whether or not the
name/clumping of invicta and richteri will be accepted. Consequently,
people were urged not to use this name until a decision was officially
made. Do you know if this has indeed happened since april? -ellen
-----------------
Ellen VanGelder
USGS-BRD Haleakala Field Station

Hello fellow ant-listers,

I'm co-authoring a review paper on ecologic impacts of invasive ants
with David Holway at UCSD. Initially we are focusing our efforts on
L. humile, P. megacephala, A. gracilipes, W. auropunctata, and S.
wagneri, but may add others.

To ensure that we are comprehensive we are asking colleagues to
let us know about papers or reports in prep, in press, or published
in literature not easily accessed through the usual databases. If
you have something we can cite, or if you anticipate having something
in the next few months, please write to me at either
ljl13@cornell.edu or llach@botzoo.uct.ac.za. Thanks for your help.

Lori

FYI.

From: Katie_Swift@r1.fws.gov
Subject: FW: BIG HEADED ANTS DOMINATE INSECT WORLD ON KURE ATOLL -- 26,500ANTS
PER SQUARE METER FOUND IN SOME SECTIONS OF THE ISLAND
To: evangeld@hawaii.edu
Date: Fri, 13 Oct 2000 03:03:19 -1000

NEWS RELEASE
October 5, 2000

Contact: Barbara Maxfield
808/541-2749

BIG HEADED ANTS DOMINATE INSECT WORLD ON KURE ATOLL -- 26,500 ANTS PER
SQUARE METER FOUND IN SOME SECTIONS OF THE ISLAND

If the quick density sampling conducted on Green Island yesterday proves to
be accurate, big-headed ants (Pheidole megacephala) have overrun the
ecosystem on the only permanent land mass within Kure Atoll.

The density sampling, conducted by entomologist Gordon Nishida and wildlife
biologist Beth Flint, recorded on average, an astounding 26,500 ants per
square meter at the sample sites.

"It's an incredible number," remarked Nishida. "But even more incredible
is that our count was done on surface ants only. Many other ants in a
colony, including the queen, live deeper underground. We have no idea what
their numbers might be here."

Non-native ants are one of the few animals that can quickly and completely
break an ecosystem. "They're ecosystem- busters," remarked Flint. "Ants
are incredibly effective and efficient predators and have few limits on
their diet. They'll eat anything that doesn't have a defense. And because
on Kure, these alien ants have no natural predators to control their
population, as long as they can find food, their colonies will probably
continue to grow."

"Big-headed ants are known exterminators of other insects," said Nishida.
"Their strong presence on the island may explain why it was so difficult to
find very many insects on the island. Native insects would have no
defenses against these ants, therefore would be easy prey and their
astonishing numbers here would probably affect even non-native species."

To complicate matters, these alien ants feed on the nectar of another
introduced insect, a scale that is also very common on island. The scale
insect breeds on an aggressive, introduced plant called Verbesina
encilioides (a member of the aster or daisy family), which has also overrun
the island. As the plant continues to spread on the island, so does the
scale population, which assists in the explosion of ants. "The large scale
population seems to be killing the Verbesina, which is a plus, but the
scales have also moved onto the native naupaka (Scaevola), leaving the
typical blackening caused by a fungus growing on the "honeydew" produced by
the scales. The ants collect the honeydew from the scales. In return for
the honeydew, the ants protect the scales from parasites and predators,
creating a powerful partnership," explained Nishida.

"Typically, when ants move into an ecosystem, many native insects become at
risk. I suspect that's what happened here. This is also what is happening
in the main Hawaiian Islands. Because the ecosystems in the main islands
are more complex, the impacts to native species are often harder to
understand," explained Nishida. "For this reason, it's important that we
learn about what's happening at places like Kure. These northwestern
islands and their limited ecosystems hold many lessons that can be applied
to natural resource management in the lower islands.

"These relationships are complicated," said Nishida, even in a relatively
simple ecosystem like the one on Kure. In my opinion, the numbers of ants
we found through our brief sampling warrants a closer look at the
situation.

In short, Nishida believes that comprehensive research on the ant problem
is needed. "Someone should study the problem more closely, and the State of
Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources needs funding to be able to
make this kind of research happen. Without it, they won't be able to
determine the best course of action to control the ant explosion or
understand why the ant numbers are so high or what their impact may be.
Kure is an important place for wildlife, particularly seabirds, but the
ants could really change that."

"Especially given the remote location of the Atoll, the State DLNR has been
doing a great job in increasing suitable habitat for ground-breeding
seabirds and other wildlife," said Flint, who has been working in the
Northwestern Hawaiian Islands for the 20 years. "But all their good work
could be greatly compromised if the ant situation isn't brought under
control. It's a real concern."

According to Flint, on Midway Atoll, biologists have instituted an ant
control program. They've also undertaken steps to control Verbesina on the
Atoll. "Perhaps Midway will have some answers for what can be done on
Kure," said Flint.

"At virtually every place we've been so far on this expedition, alien
insects dominate the insect world, with a small number of insect species
extremely prevalent," explained Nishida. "On Kure, the ants are doing the
whole job of what groups of different kinds of insects would do in an
ecosystem to keep it healthy. The balance of the system is, in my opinion,
out of whack."

The Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources manages Kure Atoll as a
wildlife sanctuary. Due to limited funds, management activities on the
island are also limited to a few work trips per year, at most.

The density sampling wasn't a planned work objective for the pair of
scientists. The idea occurred to them quickly after arriving on island,
however, when it became obvious to them that the ants were everywhere, and
in noticeable numbers. Every item on the ground, whether rock, plants, or
debris were teeming with ants.

The sampling was done creatively, using film canisters and a firm piece of
plastic to collect even samples of surface sand at 12 different spots on
the island. The sand and insects found in the sand were then placed in
collection "kill" jars so Nishida could conduct a count of the ants. Each
canister measures 683 square millimeters. This figure was then used to
calculate what the density of ants would be over a square meter.

###

IN OTHER NEWS:
Divers complete their rapid ecological assessments of the coral reef
resources around Kure Atoll one day ahead of schedule. A report on their
findings will follow tomorrow. The sediment team also completed their
sampling and ground-truthing activities at Kure today. (Video of their
work at Kure, including coral beds, spinner dolphins, galapagos sharks,
marine debris found underwater, etc. will be available October 8.)

The expedition education team completed eight live call-ins with schools
across the State this week. The long-distance learning project will
continue throughout the duration of the expedition. The team also
conducted a number of live, taped and e-mail interviews with various news
media this week.

COMING UP:
The Rapture heads back to Midway Atoll at 1:00 a.m. on October 6, one day
ahead of schedule. Scientists will conduct rapid ecological assessment
dives at, at least 3 different sites around the Atoll. Photographers will
accompany fish researchers from the NOAA ship Townsend Cromwell to document
their final work of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Expedition. The
Townsend Cromwell is the sister research vessel to the Rapture during the
northwestern expedition. They began their work two weeks earlier and will
complete their expedition work tomorrow. (Video of the Townsend Cromwell
will also be brought back to Honolulu on October 8.) The land team will
have an extra day of rest and relaxation at Midway. Late Saturday
evening, the Rapture will depart for Pearl and Hermes Reef, the
expedition's next port-of-call.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The clear-sighted do not rule the world,
but they sustain and console it.
-Agnes Repplier
___________________________________________________________________

Aulani Wilhelm
Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources
Public Information Office
808/587-0330 * 808/587-0390 (fax)

Hi Allison (and antlist folks) -

I work for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Honolulu office and am
looking into doing an ant eradication pilot project on a small island in
the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge. I don't know if this would be
the type of project you're looking for but I'll give you a few details and,
if it sounds interesting, you can contact me (I also welcome input from
antlist folks on study design and suggestions for folks to do the field
work).

Within the Midway Atoll refuge there is a small island (about 6 acres)
called Spit Island that is dominated by native coastal plants and also
serves as a seabird nesting area and pupping beach for the endangered
Hawaiian monk seal. It is the least visited island in the atoll and has
the most intact native vegetation - in addition to 2-3 species of alien
ants (all ants are alien species in Hawaii). This year we're completing a
study of some ant control plots on the largest island in the atoll and are
ready to move on to attempting complete ant eradication on a small scale.
Ants are assumed to negatively impact native vegetation and insects and
have been documented to attack seabird chicks. The goals of the Spit
Island study are 1. test out a method for ant eradication using ant
bait/poison applied via hand broadcast and possibly in bait stations, 2.
conduct a thorough before and after survey to scientifically document (for
the first time in this sort of habitat) the effects of ant removal on
native flora and fauna and, possibly 3. documenting ant re-colonization
rates (the assumption being that ants will eventually get back on via
birds, wind, biologists, etc.).

Now the logistics - Midway is a 3-hour flight via commercial jet from
Honolulu and flights are generally once per week in the summer and once
every two weeks in the winter. Midway is run as an ecotourism destination
so there are comfortable barracks, cafeteria, telephones, electricity,
running water, washing machines, a bar, etc. --- easy living. Obviously,
the easiest thing would be having someone live on island for the duration
of the project. It may also be possible to come out for periodic trips
and have a volunteer or refuge biologist do the interim monitoring. The
main thing I'm looking for is a sound study design, consistent monitoring,
and a commitment to see the project through and write up the results in a
clear, scientifically sound format - publishing the results would
definitely be a plus. I also don't anticipate that I could get more than 1
(possibly 2) years of funding, although occasional follow up monitoring
visits could possibly be arranged to track long term ecological changes.

I don't have funding yet but I'm sure I could get some if I had the right
people lined up and a sound study design that would yield results useful
for island restoration and management at other Pacific island locations. I
would also try to include a small stipend as part of the project but it
probably would not be enough to live on for the project duration. We could
probably also cover round trip airfare from Honolulu to Midway and lodging
on Midway.

Let me know if this sounds interesting.

Chris Swenson
Fish and Wildlife Biologist
Pacific Island Ecoregion - Ecological Services
300 Ala Moana Blvd #3-122
Honolulu, HI 96850
(808)541-3441 - phone
Chris_Swenson@fws.gov

Fellow worker ants,

I gave Allison some suggestions already but I told her I would put her
message out on the table cloth (antlist) to see what kind of ants showed up
to exchange pheromones with her.

Patrick Wasmannia Conant

>Date: Mon, 2 Oct 2000 14:28:15 -0700 (PDT)
>From: Allison Drew <a_e_drew@yahoo.com>
>To: miconia@aloha.net
>
>Hello Patrick --
>I'm a new PhD student with george roderick and rosie
>gillespie at uc berkeley -- I'm in the process of
>generating some project ideas and am interested in
>looking at invasive ants in hawai'i and their effects
>on native plant communities. I originally thought i
>would look at their effects via seed dispersal and
>predation, but have been hearing from various folks in
>the field that there may not be a lot of that going on
>in hawai'i. So now I'm thinking of looking at other
>ant-effects like soil disturbance, changes in folivory
>rates in ant-infested areas, etc. My practical
>knowledge of hawaii is minimal, as i've never been
>there, which makes it difficult for me to pick
>particular ant species or plant species to focus on,
>or to identify particularly important effects that the
>ants might be having -- george and rosie have
>recommended that i get in touch with people in the
>know such as yourself to get some feedback on those
>points --
>any ideas?
>thanks very much --
>allison drew

The poster will be viewable from the following site:
http://130.118.89.100/Pete/antpage.htm

Also, I would like to have some handout materials available for those
looking for more information.
I will provide a sheet about HAG with the website listed (unless Gordon
would like to put 1 page together).
Neil, can we have some copies of the Wasmannia pest alert available?
Red Imported Fire Ant information sheet?
Anything else folks want to have handouts for?

Hey Folks,

Attached (and below) is the text portion of the poster I put together for
the HCC.

It is 2 panels of 18" x 30":
The first panel text is directly from the web page and has line drawings
from The Ants (Holldobler & Wilson).
The second panel text is a VERY brief summary of some of the things we do
and has various related photos.

Please review the text and let me know if it is appropriate and if any
corrections should be made. I cannot add
any more text unless I delete a few things. I would like to print this out
on our plotter Friday morning and have
it laminated Friday afternoon (I will be on Oahu all next week). So if you
have suggestions please get them to
me by Friday morning.

I am going to put the full poster on a temporary web page sometime today so
that you may all see the full lay out.
I'll send around a message with the address when it is up.

<http://www.nytimes.com/library/national/science/080100sci-animal-ant.html>

>INVADING ANTS PRESS UNITED FRONT IN CALIFORNIA
>from The New York Times
>
>SAN DIEGO -- In a quirk of evolution and genetics, Argentine ants are
>overwhelming native California ants while forming what scientists believe
>may be the biggest ant colony in the world, stretching more than 600 miles
>from San Diego to north of San Francisco.
>
>The ants in this so-called supercolony are so similar to each other
>genetically that different colonies do not fight with one another the way
>they do in their homeland. As a result, they are using a united family front
>to win territory from native ants.
>
>In Argentina, where they are known as sugar ants, different nests of the
>fiercely territorial ants fight with one another, competing for food and
>space. An ant that wanders into the territory of another colony just 50
>yards away will quickly be torn apart by workers who recognize the peculiar
>odor of a rival. But in California, scientists found that they could take a
>worker from San Diego and put it in a colony from San Francisco and it would
>be welcomed like a kissing cousin.
>
>Using the same DNA fingerprinting techniques used in paternity cases,
>scientists at the University of California at San Diego looked at the
>genetic differences between ants in Argentina and California. They
>discovered more than twice as much genetic diversity among Argentine ants in
>their native range compared with those in California.

Published reports and museum samples showed that Argentine ants first came
to the United States aboard ships carrying coffee and sugar from South
America during the 1890's. The scientists concluded that the relatively
small immigrant populations created a "genetic bottleneck," choking off
genetic diversity.

The small founding populations represented less than half the genetic
diversity of the species.

That has made almost all Argentine ants in California similar enough that
they can no longer distinguish between close kin and ants from other nests,
a critical mechanism in the evolution of social insects. So instead of
defending separate territories, the ants behave like a single fluid colony
in their new territory.

And though the Argentine ants appear to have mellowed out among themselves
in California and are mostly just a nuisance to humans, they ruthlessly
kill and displace native ants, some of which are 20 times as large as the
Argentines. The effects of the invasion ripple through the ecosystem. Some
plants, like tree poppies, depend on native ants for seed dispersal. And
large native harvester ants make up more than 90 percent of the diet of
coastal horned lizards, commonly known as horny toads and a candidate for
the endangered species list.

Dr. Ted J. Case, a biologist at the University of California at San Diego,
has spent much of his career studying population changes among reptiles on
islands and in isolated patches of natural habitat like parks in suburban
California.

When a statewide survey of reptiles and amphibians found a precipitous
decline in the population of coastal horned lizards, Dr. Case thought that
changes in the lizard's food base might be involved. So he pulled together
a team of scientists and students to study the tiny Argentine ants, which
are about a fifth of an inch long.

The DNA detective work capped a five-year investigation of the ecology,
behavior and genetics of the ants. By comparing Argentine ants in their
native and invaded ranges, the scientists solved an intriguing puzzle in
the increasingly important field of invasion biology, which is the study of
invasive species. Most invasive species move into a territory that has been
opened up by changes in habitat and local extinction of native species, Dr.
Case said. But in the case of Argentine ants, a genetic change triggered
changes in behavior and colony structure that enabled the invader to
conquer new territory by eliminating native species.

At the same time, the huge supercolony of Argentine ants in California
continues to pose an unsolved riddle about the evolution of so-called
unicolonial insects, which act as single colonies over large areas. And it
raises the creepy possibility of an insect world dominated by invasive
unicolonial species.
Scientists play down that possibility. The loss of genetic diversity is
generally considered to be detrimental to the survival of a species, said
Neil Tsutsui, a graduate student who did the genetics research in Dr.
Case's lab. The loss of kinship recognition is an even bigger problem for
social insects, he said. The only way female workers, who make up the bulk
of the colony, can ensure that their genes get passed on to future
generations is by protecting closely related queens. So it is assumed that
workers work only for queens who share their genes. But if workers cannot
distinguish between their kin and any other ants, they end up working for
the whole supercolony. And then there is no way for natural selection to
favor any one queen and her workers over any other in the colony.

If unicolonial insects were successful in the grand sweep of evolutionary
time, Dr. Case said, they would probably appear more often. Unicoloniality
may be useful in the short term, as it is for Argentine ants and some other
invasive ants, he said, but in the long run it appears to be an
evolutionary dead end because social behavior could not evolve.

That is little consolation for residents of Southern California, where the
small, dark brown and black Argentine ants are the No. 1 pest that
extermination companies are called upon to eliminate.

In contrast, it took a week for researchers to even find the ants in
Argentina. "It was eye-opening to see how inconspicuous they were in
Argentina," Dr. Case said. "Even in areas where they're relatively common,
they're not dominant. They're not a pest. So then the question was, what
has enabled them to be so successful here?"

In California, the researchers have no trouble finding ants to study. There
are Argentine ants invading the chaparral-covered ocean bluffs around the
University of California at San Diego. There are Argentine ants scurrying
along cracks in sidewalks on campus. And there are Argentine ants swarming
by the elevator on the ground floor of the biology building.

Although colleagues have joked that the researchers have aided and abetted
the invasion, Dr. Case's lab keeps its ants under strict control, in
plastic tubs coated with a slippery Teflon-like substance that ants cannot
climb. The lips of tubs are coated with a sticky substance that traps any
ants that might find a trail to the top. In the lab, different colonies of
Argentine ants are connected by plastic tubing to common foraging areas --
tubs with water and food.

By not fighting among themselves, Argentine ants in the supercolony gain a
competitive advantage over other ants, said Dr. David Holway, a
postdoctoral researcher who designed experiments to test the supercolony's
advantage over colonies that fight with one another. The experiments showed
that Argentine ants that cooperated with one another produced more than
three times the brood and more than twice as many workers as colonies that
fought with one another.

The experiments also showed the advantage the supercolony ants had over
native ants. The Argentine ants get to food faster, overwhelm rivals with
sheer numbers of workers, and defend their turf with chemical weapons they
spray on opponents. "The Argentine ants win in a few days," Andrew Suarez,
a graduate student, said with grim admiration. Mr. Suarez's family came
from Argentina, and his grandmother put up the research team members when
they studied the ants there.

Mr. Suarez said the experimental results helped explain why some parts of
California that once were home to as many as 20 different species of ants
now contained as few as two: Argentine ants and a native species that is
active in the winter, when the Argentine ants are less active.

"Some people say, 'Big deal; you're just replacing some ants with others,'
" Mr. Suarez said. "But the thing is, you're displacing 20 species. And all
the roles they play are wiped out: dispersing seeds, pollinating plants,
providing food for other animals. All the functions are totally lost when
Argentine ants move in."

Friends and neighbors often ask the researchers how to deal with Argentine
ants in their homes. Because their research indicates that lack of moisture
is the only factor that seems to limit the spread of Argentine ants, they
suggest a simple solution: replacing lush lawns with desert landscaping.
"You wouldn't have them if there were native plants and cactus and San
Diego looked like it should," Mr. Suarez said.

In their research papers, the scientists have also suggested that more
Argentine ants could be introduced to California to increase their genetic
diversity so that the ants would again fight with one another and contain
their own populations. But they conceded that it was an academic idea
unlikely to be practical. Any introduced populations would probably be
quickly wiped out by the supercolony, Mr. Tsutsui said.

Dr. Case's lab is now collaborating with scientists at Clorox who are
studying the chemicals that ants smell to identify nest mates. If they
could create a chemical that identifies ants as enemies of the supercolony,
then they might be able to spray the chemical on half of the colony and let
the Argentine ants fight to the death.

Another more grim possibility is that another invasive species could offer
some competition for the Argentine ants. In the Southeastern United States,
imported red fire ants seem to have limited the spread of Argentine ants.
The fire ants come from the same South American habitat as the Argentine
ants. And they are also an invasive unicolonial species. But unlike
Argentine ants, which spread slowly without help from humans and took a
century to spread throughout most of coastal California, fire ant queens
and winged males take nuptial flights and establish new far-flung colonies.
They have invaded California just in the last few years. And they are even
meaner than Argentine ants.

Dr. Case is chagrined to see another invasive species come to California.
Especially one that bites, he said. But he and his colleagues are also
students of invasions and species change. And the coming showdown between
Argentine and fire ants will offer another opportunity to study an invasion
as it happens.

Hi all - is anyone going to this? Just wondering if someone will be
able to bring back the latest info on Argentine ant eradication efforts
in NZ (assuming it's presented at the conference). -Ellen

From: Wilco Liebregts <ecoconsult@is.com.fj>
Subject: [pestnet] Conference on Eradication of Island Invasives - NZ
To: pestnet@egroups.com
Cc: Dick Veitch <dveitch@kiwilink.co.nz>
Reply-to: pestnet@egroups.com
Date: Thu, 20 Jul 2000 21:48:55 -1000

Eradication of Island Invasives: Practical Actions and Results Achieved

An international conference of the Invasive Species Specialist Group of IUCN to
be held at the University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand from 19 to 23
February 2001.

The Conference
Papers presented and discussion sessions will focus on the subject of:
"Eradication of invasive species from islands; methods used and the results
achieved." The term 'eradicating' may include work to remove invasive species
where complete eradication is some, or many, years away but the methods used to
date are achieving positive results or providing a significant learning
experience. The term 'island' may include true islands, natural habitat
islands (eg. ponds), remnant and artificial habitat islands (eg. reserves), or
new invasions of natural ecosystems where eradication was deemed feasible.
Preference will be given to papers which provide detail of the techniques used
or of the ecosystem response to the work. Significant learning experiences may
include methods which failed.

Costs
Registration, including a volume of abstracts, a copy of the proceedings, all
morning and afternoon teas on campus, all lunches and a wine and cheese on the
Monday evening: NZ$270. A discount is available for early registration and
there is special consideration for full-time students. A full day field trip
is offered at extra cost. A Conference Dinner is offered at extra cost. A
list of accommodations is available.

More Information and How to Register
Go to the website http://www.issg.org for further information.
Or ask the Conference Manager: Mr Dick Veitch, 48 Manse Road, Papakura, New
Zealand, phone & fax 64-9-298-5775, mobile 64-9-25-200-5490. email
dveitch@kiwilink.co.nz for further information and a registration form.

Regards

Dick Veitch
48 Manse Road
Papakura
New Zealand

Phone/fax 64-9-298 5775
Email <dveitch@kiwilink.co.nz>
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FIJI ISLANDS
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VISIT OUR WEBSITE: www.pacificforum.com/ecoconsult

Peter - thanks so much for again writing and posting the minutes! -Ellen

Pete, the minutes look good and complete, except for mention of the next
meeting. Specifics will need to wait until the Hawaii Con Con agenda is
posted, but shall we try to have a brief meeting there? Will there be new
developments to discuss in August?

Hawaii Ant Group meeting ? 16 June 21, 2000 (9:00 ? 11:00 am)

Present:
Ellen VanGelder (USGS-BRD / UH)
Lloyd Loope (USGS-BRD)
Neil Reimer (HI Dept Ag)
Pat Conant (HI Dept Ag)
Dan Gruner (Univ. HI)
Bernarr Kumashiro (HI Dept Ag)
Pete Oboyski (USGS-BRD / UH)
Gordon Nishida (Bishop Museum)

Wasmannia Update (Pat Conant)

Pat provided a handout summarizing the status of known Wasmannia
infestations, as follows: No new sites discovered; Papaikou population
close to eradication pending (4th) treatment of nearby area with Amdro;
Panaewa infestation (100m row of fishtail palms and Pandanus) near
eradication after 4 treatments; Success of Extinguish still to be
demonstrated in a MacNut field this month; efforts have focused on potted
plants rather than residences and flower farms to thwart further spread.

Initial treatment (with Amdro) knocks populations below detection with
peanut butter chopsticks. Larger infestations and those close to crops
continue to be the most difficult to delineate and control. Vector control
staff (2 people) continue to assist in control efforts but cannot take
lead, so Pat continues to coordinate efforts. An Alu Like student
assistant will be helping Pat and Clyde for the next month and a half.
Clyde is still on the injured list.

K-12 Outreach & Education (Dan Gruner)

After working with 9 classes from 4 schools (Pahoa High, Waiakea High,
Waiakea Intermediate, Keaau High), Dan has 150+ bags of ants to sort
through. No Wasmannia detected yet. To remove ants from peanut butter,
following Bernarr's suggestion, Dan is drying samples so that peanut butter
and ants flake-off from chopsticks. Data is entered into Biota, which
provides for taxonomic and location information, as well as associated
images. It will be important to work through "results" with students.
Even though no Wasmannia were detected, the kids need feedback and
demonstration on how to prepare and present results. Dan also asked for
ideas on independent projects for kids.

Discussion: Pat suggested synthesizing distribution of ant species that
have shown outbreak patterns in other places or at other times (eg. T.
albipes, I. glaber). Since a scope is important to see some of the key
characters for distinguishing species, Lloyd offered to help write a grant
to obtain a microscope. Gordon suggested a scope connected to a
tv/computer screen so all the kids can see at once. Pete suggested letting
the kids generate their own keys based on the characters they most easily
recognize. Ellen suggested contacting the Harbenger Institute, who are
based in Keaau and work with school groups on Haleakala, for helping to
develop continued curriculum. Pete offered to help with GIS needs.

CGAPS Assessments (Ellen VanGelder)

Ellen asked for any further suggestions or thoughts on the 2 CGAPS
assessments recently submitted (RIFA and Ants in general). The more
general discussion below followed:

Discussion: What are the high risk PATHWAYS of invasion for Hawaii? for
other areas? "Pest calls" to extension agents would be one source of
non-agriculture pathway info. Stow-away mated queens in containers may be
another unappreciated pathway. Is dirt on earthmoving equipment a high
risk pathway? Can a study of pathways be conducted in Hawaii? Elsewhere?
AQIM program is a voluntary, random sampling of containers regardless of
content to assess pathways. Neil is working on AQIM assessment in Hawaii.

Other: Mainland agencies asking for renewed federal support for RIFA,
because risks of movement have increased, but staff and funding have
remained the same or decreased for most. Military requires the washing off
of dirt from equipment before overseas transport. Can state or feds
require this? Local USDA staff is unaware of many of the regulations they
should be following (particularly for RIFA) ? HDOA staff has been
"reminding" them from time to time.

Other Items

More OUTREACH can be accomplished through newspapers, tv news, and public
forums. Ellen & Lloyd meeting with Bob Besch (sp?) regarding what
products are registered for use in Hawaii and what can be used in
"emergency" situations. Pete and Gordon are preparing a poster and Pat and
Ellen are each preparing talks for the Hawaii Conservation Conference.

Hi, I dont know if this will reach anyone in time, but dont look for me at
the taxi stand, I am coming in on earlier flight so i can make it over to
UH and get a vehicle for the day. Aloha.

PS agenda sounds great.

Hi gang,

Sorry I've been out of the office this past week and have many
deadlines to meet; thus I reluctantly must miss tomorrow's meeting. But
have a good one!

Cheers,
Frank

Hi all - I know this is extremely last-minute, but here are some
thoughts for agenda items for tomorrows meetings:

1. Update on Wasmannia (Pat)
2. Update on Wasmannia school curriculum (Dan)
3. Discussion of CGAPS species assessment worksheets
4. Discussion of RIFA pathways/prevention (i.e. techniques used by
military)
5. Pesticides (EPA database; meeting with Pesticide Branch)

I am on the same flight as Dan, arriving 810 in Honolulu.
I will plan on meeting folks at the taxi stand.

Dan do you want a ride to Hilo airport?

I am looking for a lift to the Bishop Museum after the meeting.

Pete

Pat, Pete, Lloyd - do you want to car pool with Dan and I from airport
to meeting? Just wondering if we should wait for you to arrive before
loading into a taxi. -ellen

Sounds good - I get in at 8:20. How about if we meet on the median
where the taxi service is located? -Ellen

Hey outer-islanders, how about collaboration on a taxi to get to the
meeting friday morning? I will be arriving circa 810 am on Hawaiian
Airlines, but I can wait a bit while others arrive. Also, I would like to
get to the University afterward so anybody going that way please keep me in
mind!

thanks
Dan

Ellen,

No problem, thanks for investigating the possibility. I'll try to
make the next meeting in July.

Mike R.

Ok folks - i think it best to leave the meeting date for Friday, June
16th. Unfortunate that it overlaps with BIISC, but rescheduling will
create conflicts for other people. -ellen

The 16th is much better for me, though I might be able to swing the 19th if
no one else has a problem with it.

I guess it might be possible - what do you all think? If we were to change
it to, say, the following Monday (19th), could anyone NOT make it? Would
the conference room be available? Who won't be able to make the ant meeting
if its on the 16th? -ellen

Ellen,

This meeting date will conflict with the BIISC meeting on the same
date. Is there any way to change plans at this time?

Mike R.

Hi all - just wanted to remind you that the date/time for the next
meeting is Friday June 16, at 9:00, same place (HDOA PPQ). -Ellen

Aloha,

for those that are interested, I received many interesting suggestions to
try for the ant/peanut butter problem. Responses (except for less detailed
duplicate suggestions) are listed below. I have kept the respondees
anonymous--I hope this is appropriate. Thanks to all those who responded!!!

Dan Gruner

PS as for the suggestion of trying different baits, this is indeed a good
one for many situations. But for our situation (in GK-12 schools) it is
best to use something commonly available in all, or most, households, and
not needed in large quantity (e.g. compare cost of opening a can of tuna
for every household, or consider sending kids home to vegetairan households
with Vienna sausages!). Thus peanut butter seems to be an ideal solution,
when weighing a number of logistical concerns and efficacy of attracting
Wasmannia.

*****************

I wonder if the problem is actually water in the peanut butter (and the
ants) rather than fat. Have you tried using the Histoclear last instead of
first? I'm wondering about running the initial ant-filled peanut butter
globs through, say, 75% ethanol, 95% ethanol, (maybe acetone,) then
Histoclear. This would dissolve the water out. You might not need so many
steps - this is the sequence I use to dehydrate cleared beetles for
slide-mounting in Permount (synthetic Canada balsam substitute), which is
soluble in Histoclear (or xylene or toluene), but not acetone or alcohol.

*****************

I don't quite understand why the specimen quality is so important, it
would seem like picking them off the stick into a vial of alcohol and then
just shaking it up a bit would be ok for the purpose of counting and
identifying them. Ants are remarkably sturdy, and as long as you're not
dealing with really similar species (where you would need to count setae,
etc.) they should remain identifiable through just about any peanut butter
removal scheme I can think of.
Also, my experience with W. auropunctata has been that they aren't very
good at stinging unless they get on you in large numbers. I collect then
with my fingers and never feel stings.

(later addition)

Don't get me wrong, you are perfectly justified in doing this the way you
want to do it, I'm just thinking that it sounds very labor intensive. You
might want to experiment a bit more with different baits, I've had good
luck attracting little fire ants (and of course myriad other ants) in the
caribbean using tuna fish in small vials buried like pitfalls.

*****************

This might sound a bit silly but why not use very hot water, with detergent
if necessary, then filter through fine curtain mesh or sieve. If required
you could then use Margaret's alcohol wash before the Histoclear. Ants seem
to be remarkably resilient, even to the extent that when they get in the
kettle and get a bit boiled they still remain whole, thus the very hot
water would not hurt the specimens?? If you are not going to keep all the
material I find it much easier to look at trap material in water, before
added the odd specimen to ethanol to preserve if required.

*****************

I collect leafhoppers from sticky traps and use hexanes to dissolve the
glue, and then transfer to EtOH. I don't buy a high grade, just the cheap
mixed hexanes. This works very well. I think that should dissolve the fats
that you're left with.

*****************

I work for the U.S.Food and Drug Admin. (FDA). I examine food for insect
and animal contamination. Occasionally we get samples of peanut butter,
which need to be examined for insect filth. To isolate the insects from the
peanut butter we use a method from the AOAC (Official Methods of Analysis of
Association of Analytical Chemist International. It works well at
separating insects from Peanut Butter. If you have access to an AOAC, you
can find the method in the 16th addition Method number 968.35 (16.4.04)
page 13. If you don't have access to it and would like a copy let me know.
I could FAX it to you (would need FAX number). The method uses among other
things Sodium Lauryl Sulfate to break up the fat in the peanut butter. The
method works very well.

*****************

You may have tried this but washing the ant/PB with a light vegetable oil
might do a good job of suspending the little peanut particles and enable you
to filter them through a mesh screen of a size slightly smaller than the ant
in question. This might get rid of the worst of the gunk. Then you could
use histoclear or other solvents if needed. If you had a large surface
light colored mesh you might even be able to directly pick the ants off the
mesh. Though I've never heard of this use one might try using oil in an
ultrasonic cleaner bath to suspend the PB.

*****************

Perhaps a paleoentomological technique (which was borrowed from an
archaeological technique) would help.
Obtain screens used for sieve analysis (borrow from your university's
geology department or purchase from a forestry supplier). They are
available in a wide range from very coarse to extremely fine so you could
get what's right for your critters. Pour your thick mess in and let it
drain through. It's really just your filter paper idea with a fine screen
instead--it will be much faster. Then use Dawn dish detergent and rinse
them with a stream of water, all while in the screen pan. (From experience
I can tell you that Dawn works much better than the others.) In
paleoentomology this is used to separate sediments from kerosene and clean
them for sorting.
If this looks useful to you, you're welcome to get back to me and I can
provide more details (the reprint about the technique, catalog info about
screens, suggested screen size, etc.).

*****************

I had some old peanut butter stick samplings which had been given to me
about 2 months ago. Just now, I used 95% EtOH and could easily remove the
ants. Did you try using 95% EtOH?
There are a few factors in this situation that may be critical.
1. The peanut butter was in dry condition over the months. Perhaps you
could dry the peanut butter on the sticks in the sun or low temperature
oven or microwave.
2. The amount of peanut butter on the stick was minimal (almost a smear) ,
not a whole bob. Perhaps you could run a test to determine if the amount of
peanut butter is critical. If they attract the same amount of ants (or
nearly the same amount) perhaps using less on the stick would be better.
If you are not actually counting ants, but just seeing what species are
present, perhaps it is not critical to look at every single ant. I seem to
think that there is competiton between species, and usually you'll find
one major species on a single stick. When students spread the sticks around
a yard, especially a big yard, and mix them in a ziplock bag, you may
encounter more than one species. In samples that I looked at, I maybe
found about 3 species. Maybe all that's needed is to take representatives
of what looks different and look at these carefully.

*****************

I just got back from the Galapagos where I was helping with a
little-fire ant problem there. This may be a little late for what you are
doing, but I would recommend a cross section of vienna sausage or hot dog
to the peanut butter. You could use a tooth pick to hold it in place if
necessary or just skewer it with the chop stick. We have very good luck
attracting Wasmannia in 20-30 min with this bait.
I would also be interested in receiving additional info about the
nature of your problem and what your plans are.

*****************

>ARGENTINE ANTS MELLOW OUT IN CALIFORNIA, CONQUER STATE
>from The Los Angeles Times
>
>LA JOLLA--They are the ants that swarm your kitchen after heavy rain. The
>ants that nurture aphids that suck your garden dry. The ants that march
>relentlessly through Southern California, driving away gentler native ants
>and even lizards that stand in their way.
>
>They also are a puzzle.
>
>Just why is it these Argentine ants do so well here, colonizing the state in
>untold numbers? And what gives the two-millimeter-long ants the power to
>defeat native carpenter and harvester ants that can be 10 times their size?
>
>It may be because they are all genetically similar, a group of UC San Diego
>scientists suggest in a paper being published today. So they treat each
>other--even ants from distant colonies--as close kin.
><http://www.latimes.com/news/science/science/20000516/t000046159.html>

Dan

Wasmannia likes sliced hot dogs just as much as other attractants. We were
given this tip by Sanford Porter and recently tested it out in Marchena
Island with great success. Using this bait is a lot less messy!

Good luck

Charlotte

Aloha,

I have a rather sticky question here, which is somewhat related to a
request I sent a while back. How to efficiently extract ants from peanut
butter, while preserving specimen quality? I must develop a way to do this
quickly and completely (cannot afford to lose specimens). Let me explain
the context.

I am involved with an outreach program into GK-12 schools, where students
are enlisted to help sample for ants in their schoolyards and home
properties. We are looking for the "little fire ant" (Wasmannia
auropunctata) which has been introduced recently to the island of Hawaii.
We are trying to understand the present distribution of the ant before
eradication vs. containment decisions are made. The most effective bait
appears to be peanut butter which is placed on cut up chopsticks and laid
out in the field. Students collect the chopsticks and bring them back for
ID. The ants are frozen to kill them before bringing them in. Because the
ants sting, we want to limit contact by students--thus we ask that the
students simply bag and tag the specimens (after making observations)
instead of trying to work with live ants. Thus each student has a discrete
collection of ants, with an attached data sheet, and later we will return
to the classrooms and display each contribution on GIS maps.

Its all well and good, except the students invariably use lots of peanut
butter, and these *very small* ants get trapped in the goo. What is the
best way to extract ants from the peanut butter--quickly, effectively, and
without loss or degradation of the specimens? Because these fire ants are
small and potentially could be in any bag, we cant afford to lose any ants
to the process.

I have tried several solvents, and the most promising thus far is
"Histoclear" (distributed by Great Lakes IPM--thanks to the several
individuals who recommended the material for sticky yellow card specimen
removal). This is a solvent of fats that does not mix with water. The
histoclear dissolves the peanut butter well, and frees the ants, but then I
am left with a fatty, opaque mess with tiny ants in the suspension. Is
there a next step that will work to free the ants from the mess? I could
pour the suspension through filter paper... It may work, but this leads to
much waste of the solvent. but I guess I am looking for a silver bullet, if
there is one. Can anyone help? I would also welcome help as to different
ways to sample for the ants, if this problem with peanut butter proves
intractable. Thanks very much.

Dan

Hi all - I incorporated comments I received. I'm forwarding the
attached drafts on to Fred. -Ellen

Attachment Converted: "c:\eudora\attach\RIFAriskassessment21.rtf"
CGAPS INVASIVE SPECIES ASSESSMENT WORKSHEET

Organism type and name: Ants (Formicidae) (Does not include RIFA - RIFA has its own assessment)

Describe the risk (of having the invasive species): Very high. Already over 40 species of alien ants have established in Hawaii, several of which are very high hazards (to agriculture, biodiversity, public health). Risk of "getting" more - very high. The only ant on APHIS PPQ pest list are IFA. No federal protection measures in place for any other species on foreign imports to Hawaii. No federal quarantine/protection measures for ants on domestic imports, except the relatively ineffective IFA quarantine. Invasion pathways not well understood but likely include nonagricultural items. No HDOA authority to inspect non-agricultural imports to Hawaii. Number of State inspection staff inadequate for inspecting all incoming goods/persons. The recent discovery of the little fire ant (Wasmannia auropunctata) on Hawaii is proof that current prevention/early detection systems are inadequate to protect Hawaii from further ant introductions. Risk of little fire ant - very high. Already on Hawaii, has been found at one site on Kauai, and may already be on other islands.

Describe the hazard (extent of impact if risk not adequately addressed): An extremely destructive, tenacious, taxa, especially in Hawaii where there are no native ants. Hazards very high, and very diverse, due to diversity in species' natural histories. For instance: predatory ants - very high hazard to biodiversity (native invertebrates extremely susceptible to ant predation); homopteran-tending ants - very high hazard to agriculture, plant biodiversity; weaver ants (Oecophylla sp.) - a very high hazard to forest biodiversity, including mid-high elevation native rainforest (a habitat as yet uninfested by any ant species); stinging ants (such as little fire ant) - a high hazard to public health, biodiversity, and quality of life.

Describe "vision of success" for program component (PDRCEO):
(P) Prevent: 1.) all new ant introductions to the State (including those of new and already established species) from imports/persons originating outside the State; and 2.) inter-island movement of species that have restricted (by island) distributions within the State
(D) Detect: 1.) all arrivals of new species to the State; and 2.) all new arrivals to individual islands
(R) Respond: to all new (to the State or to a particular island) species introductions
(C) Control: ERADICATE all new (to the State or to a particular island) species introductions; with "highest priority" (among all invasive species, not just ants) designation given to those species assessed by Hawaii Ant Group to be most serious threat (weaver ants, little fire ant)
(E) Enforce: strictly (all laws/regulations concerning quarantine/inspection/transport of goods)
(O) Outreach to Public: the public has a good knowledge of ants in general, their non-native status in Hawaii, and potential impacts. And, a continued program established to maintain public interest/knowledge.

Describe the "elements of capacity" needed under each component of action to achieve this vision - personnel, policy, etc:

(P) Prevent:
     knowledge/analysis of pathways of introduction
     knowledge/analysis of current ant species distributions in the State
     establishment of federal policy of "no ants allowed" on any goods/persons, domestic or foreign,           entering Hawaii
     establishment of federal law giving Hawaii federal quarantine protection from mainland;           subsequent USDA inspection/protection assistance; and, with "all Formicidae" on federal           PPQ list for goods/persons entering Hawaii.
     establishment of State law giving authority to HDOA to inspect non-agricultural items
     implementation of state inspections of 1st class mail from mainland (as done in California to           goods from Hawaii)
     inspection teams at all ports of entry (QUANTIFY INSPECTORS, DOGS) armed with the           latest technologies/ant attractants (and authority) for inspecting all goods identified as           potential pathways
     regulations requiring use of latest ant retarding technologies for packaging/transporting/treating           goods entering the state from RIFA areas;
     stringent penalties for those violating import/quarantine/ant regulations;

(D) Detect:
     3 additional state survey entomologists, to conduct comprehensive annual State-wide ant surveys
     knowledgeable public (via public outreach)

(R) Respond:
     field crews - MISC and/or HDOA (pre-assigned to some crew), with those species assessed by           Hawaii Ant Group to be most serious threat taking highest priority over other projects if they           are detected on previously uninfested islands (if ISC crews assigned to it, then will need state           authority to go on private land and eradicate)
     designation of those species assessed by Hawaii Ant Group to be most serious threat as           "highest priority" for assigned field crew
     state/federal permits for use of necessary pesticides (in any potential situation) acquired prior to           any actual need (i.e. prior to any detection);
     quarantine/containment policies established prior to actual need for all "new" species
     pesticides and application equipment (and license for, and knowledge of, use by crew) acquired           prior to need

(C) Control/ERADICATION:
     HDOA emergency listing of all those species assessed by Hawaii Ant Group to be most serious           threat (emergency listing for all islands not previously infested ), or whatever designation           needed to access/treat land without owner permission, and authority of access/treat given to           designated response crew
     prior appropriation of emergency use funds for eradication of all new arrivals (to State or to           particular island
     state/federal pesticide permits on-hand
     those species assessed by Hawaii Ant Group to be most serious threat designated as highest           priority for designated field crew
     quarantine/containment policies in place for all those species assessed by Hawaii Ant Group to           be most serious threat
     
(E) Enforce:
     strict enforcement of all import/quarantine/ant regulations;
     stiff penalties for violations of regulations

(O) Outreach to Public:
     incorporation of ants-as-invaders into Hawaii science curriculum
     public service announcements, focusing on "most serious" species (TV/radio)
     Hawaii DOH notice to all licensed physicians re identifying different ant stings and collecting           information from patients regarding the circumstances in which they were received
     presentations to community/business/govt. employee groups
     distribution of pamphlets/posters/info sheets
     web page
     funding of public outreach person?

Attachment Converted: "c:\eudora\attach\ANTriskassessment11.rtf"
CGAPS INVASIVE SPECIES ASSESSMENT WORKSHEET

Organism type and name: Ant (Solenopsis invicta)

Describe the risk (of having the invasive species): Risk of "having" - high. Risk of "getting" - very high. An extremely successful invader. Has invaded over 300 million acres in the southern U.S. despite a federal quarantine. Primarily dispersed via transport of goods - hence, recent establishment of the species in California, from where huge quantities of goods are shipped to Hawaii, has increased the risk. Mated queens fly, and a single mated queen (i.e. a single stowaway) can establish a colony. If S. invicta gets to Hawaii, quick spread throughout the islands is likely via transport on shipped goods, and natural dispersal via flighted queens.

Describe the hazard (extent of impact if risk not adequately addressed): Will invade areas with temperatures above 0'F and >10" rain/yr (or <10"rain/yr but land watered/irrigated), which includes much of the state. A very high hazard to public health (at least 83 deaths, 10's -100's of thousands of sting cases annually require medical attention/treatment). A very high hazard to public safety (the ants are attracted to, and consequently damage, electrical equipment including communication, transportation, electrical distribution, and safety lighting). A very high hazard to industry (can cause electrical shorts and fires, damage electrical equipment, damage irrigation lines, compromise waste containment, and compromise cleanliness in food packaging, processing, and storage areas). A very high hazard to biodiversity (aggressive predator with broad diet that includes animals and plants), water quality (via heavy pesticide use for continued control), economy (continuous chemical treatments required in public and private areas for human/animal safety; negative effects on tourism, agriculture, livestock, outdoor recreation, utilities, and other industries; liability suits), and quality of life. Impossible to eradicate once established.

Describe "vision of success" for program component (PDRCEO):
(P) Prevent: as many introductions as humanly possible (at least until eradication techniques have been developed)
(D) Detect: all new arrivals promptly
(R) Respond: to all introductions immediately
(C) Control: ERADICATE all introductions immediately
(E) Enforce: strictly (all laws/regulations concerning quarantine/inspection/transport of goods and all action plan strategies and guidelines).
(O) Outreach to Public: the public knows what it is, what it does, why we want to do all we can to keep it out, and how to identify and report potential RIFA encounters. And, a continued program established to maintain public interest/knowledge.

Describe the "elements of capacity" needed under each component of action to achieve this vision - personnel, policy, etc:

(P) Prevent:
     immediate implementation of prevention measures listed below
          knowledge/analysis of pathways of introduction
          establishment of State law giving authority to HDOA to inspect non-agricultural items
          establishment of policy of "no ants allowed" on any goods/persons, domestic or foreign,                entering Hawaii
          establishment of federal law giving Hawaii federal quarantine protection from mainland, and                subsequent USDA inspection/protection assistance
          establishment of state inspections of 1st class mail from mainland (as done in California to                goods from Hawaii)
          rescinding of preemption clause in federal IFA quarantine regulations;
          inspection teams at all ports of entry (# OF INSPECTORS/DOGS?) armed with the latest                technologies/ant attractants (and authority) for inspecting all goods identified as potential                pathways
          regulations requiring use of latest ant retarding technologies for                packaging/transporting/treating goods entering the state from RIFA areas;
          stringent penalties for those violating import/quarantine/ant regulations;

(D) Detect:
     biannual HDOA inspections of all nurseries, using Spam or proven detection technologies (i.e.           venom baits, once developed); and increased inspection staff (6 total for State) for increased           nursery coverage
     3 additional State survey entomologists (for a total of one for each of 4 main islands) to survey           high risk areas (construction sites, landscaped sites, reports from the general public, areas           surrounding airports and cargo warehouses) using latest detection technologies
          knowledgeable public (via public outreach
     establishment of school curriculum that incorporates ant surveys by students

(R) Respond:
     field crews - MISC and/or HDOA (needs to be pre-assigned to some crew) with RIFA           eradication taking high priority over other projects if RIFA is detected (If ISC crews do it,           then will need state authority to go on private land and eradicate).
     designation of RIFA as "highest priority" for assigned field crew;
     state/federal permits for use of necessary pesticides (in any potential situation) acquired prior to           any actual need (i.e. prior to any detection);
     quarantine/containment policies established prior to actual need;
     pesticides and application equipment (and license for, and knowledge of, use by crew) acquired           prior to need;

(C) Control/ERADICATION:
     HDOA emergency listing or whatever designation needed to access/treat land without owner           permission, and authority of access/treat given to designated response crew
     prior appropriation of emergency use funds for eradication
     state/federal pesticide permits on-hand
     RIFA designated as highest priority, for designated field crew
     quarantine/containment policies in place

(E) Enforce:
     strict enforcement of all import/quarantine/ant regulations
     stiff penalties for violations of regulations

(O) Outreach to Public:
     public service announcements (TV/radio)
     Hawaii DOH notice to all licensed physicians re identifying RIFA stings
     establishment of RIFA in school curriculum
     presentations to community/business/govt. employee groups
     distribution of pamphlets/posters/info sheets
     web page

Hi Ellen:

Attached are some comments on the Ant assessment. Good job.

Attachment Converted: "c:\eudora\attach\ANTriskassessment_ed.rtf"

aloha,

Hi all - ok, so after several permutations, the "general ant" assessment
is almost identical to the RIFA one. It was definately more difficult
to do and i'm not as comfortable with the first draft of this as i was
with the RIFA one (even though they are similar). So - please - tell me
what you think of the attached! -ellen

Hi folks - attached is the draft CGAPS assessment for RIFA. Read over
(its pretty short - just two pages, really!!) and send comments.
Thanks!! -Ellen

Sorry people-- I sent the wrong attachment. The instructions I promised
before are attached.

At 03:16 PM 5/3/2000 -1000, Ellen VanGelder wrote:
>Hi dan - thanks for sending the form!! I'll send it along to the folks working
>on the Maui school curriculum. I was just wondering - did you mean to email
>us a copy of written instructions? Just wondering cause you mentioned
>instructions in your messege. I hope the first round of student collecting
>goes
>well!! -ellen

Attachment Converted: "c:\eudora\attach\Ant Collection Instructions.rtf"
Instructions for Collecting Ants

*PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU ATTEMPT TO COLLECT ANTS*

*IF YOU ARE ALLERGIC, OR YOU SUSPECT YOU MAY BE ALLERGIC, TO BEE OR WASP STINGS, PLEASE ASK FOR HELP FROM YOUR PARENTS, OR REFRAIN FROM THIS ACTIVITY COMPLETELY*

1) Do not wear loose clothing, slippers or a watch. The ants can get trapped and caught in this attire. Wear suitable clothing with short sleeves, closed toe shoes and remove your watch or jewelry, if possible.
2) Decide beforehand where you will place the chopsticks. Good places for sampling ants are beneath trees and shrubs, in or under potted outdoor plants, near garbage cans or buildings, or where you have seen ants before.
3) Although ants may nest in wet areas, they usually will not forage, or be attracted to bait, in very wet weather. Try baiting for ants when the sun is out or when it is not raining very hard, or when the forecast calls for a fair day.
4) Dip half of the chopstick in peanut butter, leaving the other half free of peanut butter. You will need to pick up the chopsticks later, so you need to grab a clean area that will be free of ants. You do not need very much peanut butter! Just a light coating will be enough to attract ants, if they are present.
5) Place stick on or into the ground at a suitable locat