Spread to major European cities feared after nearly 100 nests are found on the Italian island of Sicily.
The imported ant, which has the scientific name Solenopsis invicta, is native to South America but has spread throughout much of the United States, Mexico, the Caribbean, China, and Australia over the past century.
These insects can be aggressive when disturbed and they have a painful sting, which is irritating to the skin and can cause allergic reactions.Researchers said they had identified 88 red fire ant nests spread over 5 hectares near the city of Syracuse in Sicily,"Finding this species in Italy was a big surprise, but we knew this day would come," Mattia Menchetti, a researcher at the Institute of Evolutionary Biology in Spain, said.
Menchetti called the ants "one of the worst invasive species" whose colonies "can spread alarmingly quickly". While red fire ants had been discovered in imported products in Spain, Finland and the Netherlands, a colony had never been confirmed before this study, the authors said.It was unclear how or when the fire ants got there.
The researchers behind the study believe the insects must have arrived at a transit point with lots of human activity, such as the city's port.
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