1 Monsters’ Agrotech No.285, Section 2, Tingzhou Road, Zhongzheng District, Taipei City 100, Taiwan 2 Council of Agriculture, National Red Imported Fire Ant Control Center No. 27, Lane 113, Section 4, Roosevelt Road, Da’an District, Taipei City 106332, Taiwan 3 Department of Biology, National Changhua University of Education No. 1, Jinde Road, Changhua City, Changhua County 50007, Taiwan *E-mail: cclin@cc.ncue.edu.tw 1. Current Status of RIFA Invasion in Taiwan 2024 AIRIES It has been 20 years since the red imported fire ants (RIFA) was first detected in Taiwan. Currently, this ant has appeared across most of northern Taiwan, including the remote islands of Kinmen and Lienchiang. Right after the invasion, the National Red Imported Fire Ant Control Center (NRIFACC) was established. Technologies for alien ant management have also burgeoned among governmental institutes and private sectors. In our study, liquid nitrogen freezing, hot water vapor steaming and dry ice treatment showed a more than 80 percent control rate against individual RIFA nests. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) for broadcasting pesticide were tested for increased safety of pest control specialists. Detection dogs were able to locate RIFAs and their nests in nursery farms, construction sites, airports and seaport terminals with an indication rate of over 90 percent. When conducting a large area-wide survey using bait traps, the Fire ant Automatic Image Recognition System (FAIRS) could be used to distinguish RIFA from other ant species with a true positive rate of about 90 percent, while showing RIFAs’ location on a map, reducing the labor cost. Finally, a mobile game regarding ant farming and RIFA management were developed to raise people’s awareness of the impact of invasive ants on the environment and ecosystems, and draw attention to the concepts of biosecurity and richness of biodiversity. Some of the technologies mentioned above were also listed in the Standard Operating Procedures for Fire Ant Control issued by Taiwan’s government. Key words: biodiversity, liquid nitrogen, phone game, RIFA detection dog, unmanned aerial vehicle. The notorious invasive species “red imported fire ant (RIFA)” is harmful to human and animals. It also has a local economic activities and severe ecosystems once established. It originated in South America and was later discovered in the United States in the 1930s to 1940s. In 2001 to 2002, RIFA appeared in Puerto Rico, Caribbean islands, New Zealand and Australia. (Callcott & Collins, 1996; Callcott, 2002; Davis et al., 2001; Solley et al., 2002). In October 2003, RIFA was found invading Taoyuan and Chiayi counties in Taiwan (Yang et al., 2008). In 2004, it was also confirmed in Hong Kong and the southeastern provinces of China (Zheng et al., 2007). A potential route for the invasion of RIFA into Taiwan could be through RIFA colony impact on infestations in the bottoms of shipping containers. Such cross-sea invasion events resulting from human activities are even more important than nature migration. From 2017 to 2024, multiple small-scale invasion cases were reported in the container storage areas of ports in South Korea and Japan. (Lyu & Lee, 2017; Murakami, 2018; MOE, 2024). Abstract Since RIFA was discovered in Taiwan in October 2003 and became established, the Taiwanese government officially announced RIFA as “a specific pest for immediate control the Plant Prevention and Quarantine Act” in 2004. A joint meeting spanning various ministries in the central government as well as local governments was also established, holding annual meetings for the management of RIFA. The National Red Imported Fire Ant Control Center was also in accordance with 143 Hui-Min LIN1 and Chung-Chi LIN2,3* Global Environmental Research 28/2024 143-150 printed in Japan Pioneering Control Technologies for Red Imported Fire Ants (Solenopsis invicta) in Taiwan
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