Invasive Ant With Painful Bite Discovered In Louisiana

Most people in Louisiana are well aware of fire ants, "sugar" ants, army ants and a number of other species, but would you have ever guessed that Louisiana is actually home to 142 known species of ants?

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According to mississippientomologicalmuseum.com, twenty-nine of these are considered introduced species.  Introduced; meaning that they were brought here from elsewhere.  Probably not intentionally, but nonetheless, today's Louisiana residents are dealing with issues that indigenous people didn't have to contend with.

One of those introduced or "invasive" ant species are fire ants. Research indicates these red imported fire ants were introduced to the United States, including Louisiana, in the 1930's through the port of Mobile, Alabama, likely via cargo ships from South America.

These mound building, biting little boogers have gotten so bad that Louisiana and a number of other states have been added to a Federal Fire Ant Quarantine.

Regardless of how bad fire ants have become, there is a new threat to Louisiana on the horizon in the form of another invasive ant species.

Asian Needle Ants Have Just Been Discovered In Louisiana

The Louisiana Radio Network just released details of the recent Louisiana discovery of the Asian Needle Ant.

The USDA simply describes the Asian Needle Ant as an "Invasive Stinging Ant" and though this species is reported to have been in the United States since the 1930's, it has only recently been discovered in Louisiana when a colony was detected in East Baton Rouge Parish.

Indigenous to Japan and China, this species was discovered last month here in the Bayou State and Aaron Ashbrook, an entomology professor at LSU, tells Louisiana Radio Network, "We had gotten some reports recently of the ants spreading in Mississippi. And so we thought, given the climatic similarities between Mississippi and Louisiana, it should be here in the state given its proximity.”

Asian Needle Ants Don't Build Mounds, But Thrive In Moist Wood And Soil

Ashbrook says of the Asian Needle Ants, "They typically live in very moist soil or moist wood. They’re in fact termite specialists, so they’re typically near areas where they can acquire and feed upon termites.”

While termite eradication would definitely put some positive light on these little guys, there is definitely a downside to their existence in that the ant's sting is much more powerful than that of a fire ant, so Ashbrook cautions anyone working with wet wood or soil to protect yourself by wearing gloves, especially after a good rainstorm.