Australia's push to defeat the yellow crazy ant

A detection dog called Fury is helping authorities in Australia eradicate the last remaining pockets of aggressive yellow crazy ants. First discovered in Australia in the 1980s after probably arriving on a cargo ship, the ants spray formic acid when aggravated, and have devastated populations of frogs, lizards and ground-nesting birds.

The yellow crazy ant is an invasive species currently threatening wildlife in several parts of Australia Source: AAP

The yellow ant eradication program is up and running and the results are impressive.

Australia is almost half way through a 10 year plan to eliminate these destructive insects.

About 85 per cent of known infestations have been killed off.

The ants can form super colonies containing thousands of queens.

It is estimated that up to 20 million worker ants can inhibit a single hectare of land.

On Christmas Island, an Australian territory in the Indian ocean, scientists say ants have been responsible for the deaths of up to 20 million red crabs.

Andrew Cox from the Invasive Species Council - a conservation group - says they are a major threat to biodiversity.

The ants are part of a long list of invasive species, including cane toads, feral cats, pigs and camels, but have caused untold ecological carnage across Australia.

 

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