Little Fire Ant, Wasmannia auropunctata (Roger) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), Established at Several Locations on Guam

Abstract

Little fire ant, Wasmannia auropunctata (Roger) (LFA), was identified in a karst-limestone forest adjacent to a green-waste hardfill in northern Guam in No- vember 2011. Six additional LFA infestations were identified at private residences and small farms along the southwest coast of the island. Surveillance surveys sug- gest that LFA has yet to spread to the neighboring islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), or elsewhere in Micronesia. The spread of LFA to and throughout Guam is most likely due to human transport of infested plant material from LFA infested areas of Hawaii, Australia, or the U.S. mainland. The devastating effects of LFA on agriculture and forest ecosystems observed in LFA infested areas elsewhere are likely to occur on Guam and other Micronesian islands infested by LFA. Some LFA infestations on Guam may be eradicable using control techniques in use in Hawaii and other Pacific Basin countries.