1. Introduction 2024 AIRIES Among invasive species, alien ants show particularly high levels of ecological impacts. One such species, the Argentine ant Linepithema humile, has invaded and established populations worldwide, causing significant damage to biodiversity and human society. Although chemical control measures against invading populations of Argentine ants have been implemented in various countries, successful eradication cases remain rare. In Japan, this species is listed as a Designated Invasive Alien Species under the Invasive Alien Species Act, placing the responsibility for its control on local governments. Our research team at the National Institute for Environmental Studies, has developed effective control methods for the invading Argentine ant populations based on population-ecology and pesticide-science approaches. As a result, we have successfully eradicated nearly all Argentine ant populations in the Kanto region of Japan. Key words: Argentine ant, chemical control, eradication, fipronil, Linepithema humile Invasive alien ants are among the most damaging of invasive insects, with five ant species ranked among the 100 world’s worst invaders by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (Lowe et al., 2004). Within regions to which these ants have been introduced, they can displace or disrupt the local arthropod fauna, cause agricultural damage by protecting plant pests, and even affect human health (Holway et al., 2002). In recent years in Japan, there has been much discussion about the invasion of the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, into ports across the country in containers (as mentioned elsewhere in this special issue). However, even before the arrival of the red imported fire ant, another invasive ant species had already invaded and expanded its distribution in various regions of Japan. That species is the Argentine ant, Linepithema humile (Fig. 1). imported from overseas The Argentine ant is native to South America and is a highly invasive species that has become established worldwide (Roura-Pascual et al., 2011; Suarez et al., 2001). This species was first detected in Japan in 1993 (Sugiyama, 2000) and has since spread throughout the country (Inoue et al., 2013; Okaue et al., 2007). This species does not have strong toxicity like the red Abstract imported fire ant, and therefore, it has not attracted much attention from the general public, media or policymakers. However, its natural growth rate is immense, and it has to expanded residential and urban environments (Ward et al., 2005). Large numbers of individuals invade human dwellings, causing malfunctions in electrical appliances and/or instilling significant feelings of disgust and anxiety in residents (Gordon et al., 2001; Klotz et al., 2008). In Japan, the Argentine ant has been designated as an the Invasive Alien Species under Environment’s Invasive Alien Species Act, and in areas where they have become established, local governments are responsible for taking the lead in promoting control of these ants (Ministry of the Environment, undated). The most practical and effective method for controlling invasive ant species to date has been chemical control using insecticides (Hoffmann et al., 2011; Zanola et al., 2024). In the United States, some parasitoid species of the genus Pseudacteon have been researched as biological control against the red imported fire ant, but so far there have been no significant reports of successful control using them (Morrison, 2012). There have been no reports of implementation or successful cases of biological control of the Argentine ant either. It is thought that developing biological control materials will still its distribution, particularly adapting 117 the Ministry of Koichi GOKA Global Environmental Research 28/2024 117-124 printed in Japan National Institute for Environmental Studies 16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba-shi, Ibaraki 305-8506, Japan E-mail: goka@nies.go.jp Chemical Control of the Established Populations of Invasive Alien Species ‘Argentine Ant’ in Japan
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