Red fire ants are one of the world’s worst and costliest invasive alien species - and they’re making Italy their home.
The red fire ant has formed a mature population in Sicily, Italy, according to research published in the scientific journal Current Biology.
As well as wreaking havoc on local ecosystems and biodiversity, fire ants can damage crops and infest electrical equipment.
They are the fifth costliest invasive species in the world, costing almost €20 billion in damage and management between 1970 and 2017, according to one estimate published in the journal Nature in 2021.
In less than a century, they have spread via human trade throughout much of the United States, Mexico, the Caribbean, China, Taiwan and Australia.
Fire ants have previously been documented in products in Spain, Finland and the Netherlands but not in the wild as seen in Sicily, where 88 nests have been found.
The original article contains 563 words, the summary contains 148 words. Saved 74%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Red fire ants are one of the world’s worst and costliest invasive alien species - and they’re making Italy their home.
The red fire ant has formed a mature population in Sicily, Italy, according to research published in the scientific journal Current Biology.
As well as wreaking havoc on local ecosystems and biodiversity, fire ants can damage crops and infest electrical equipment.
They are the fifth costliest invasive species in the world, costing almost €20 billion in damage and management between 1970 and 2017, according to one estimate published in the journal Nature in 2021.
In less than a century, they have spread via human trade throughout much of the United States, Mexico, the Caribbean, China, Taiwan and Australia.
Fire ants have previously been documented in products in Spain, Finland and the Netherlands but not in the wild as seen in Sicily, where 88 nests have been found.
The original article contains 563 words, the summary contains 148 words. Saved 74%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!