New Zealand efforts in the Pacific against yellow crazy ants, an invasive species that destroys crops and blinds livestock, are proving a success, researchers say.
Pacific Biosecurity, a non-profit organisation operating out of Victoria University, is halfway through a five-year project funded by the New Zealand Aid Programme.
Pacific Biosecurity programme manager Dr Monica Gruber says the team has been collaborating with regional and local partners over the past two years to control the ants on Atafu in Tokelau and eradicate them on Kiritimati in Kiribati.
"We are delighted to report that we have significantly reduced ant numbers so that they are no longer causing problems," she said. Dr Gruber said the acid-spraying yellow crazy ants posed a significant threat to local ecosystems.
She said they were capable of mass attacking and killing animals over 500 times their size, including crabs, and nesting seabirds and their chicks.
