Speaker: Reece Pianta (Invasive Species Council), "Fire ants – their threat and eradication"
Fire ants could potentially inflict a multi-billion dollar hit to Australia’s economy. They are three times more venomous than other stinging insects. They threaten iconic Australian wildlife populations like koalas, platypus and echidnas. Overseas, fire ants are causing agricultural land to become unviable.
As expert stowaways they have crossed oceans and continents in cargo. These invaders threaten to spread across the entire country if we don’t stop them in their tracks.
At our August Monthly Meeting, Invasive Species Council advocacy manager Reece Pianta will describe the current fire ant threat and his experience with eradication of a previous outbreak.
Observations: Members and visitors are invited to share their interesting observations at the meeting. Please email any photos to illustrate your report as JPEG file(s) to Jill Williams (jilliwill33@gmail.com) by noon on the day of the meeting.