Jul 11 (Japan Times) - Biologists are calling for urgent nationwide action to prevent venomous fire ants from infesting Japan after the highly invasive species was spotted at several major ports, including Tokyo.
"Japan needs to fight the insects as a national campaign," said Takahiro Murakami, an associate professor of behavioral biology at Kyushu University. "The government must implement an effective eradication program with the cooperation of the international community.
"If left uncontrolled, the country will go through what the United States and some other countries have experienced."
Murakami said more than half the residents of some affected areas in the U.S. have been stung by the pests, which cause some ¥500 billion ($4.4 billion) in economic damage in that country every year.
Koichi Goka, head of the National Institute for Environmental Studies' Center for Environmental Biology and Ecosystem Studies, said fire ants, native to South America, have already spread to more than 10 countries.
He said the damage is particularly serious in the U.S., Australia, China and Taiwan.
The insects made headlines in Japan after first being discovered in May in a container that arrived at Kobe port from Nansha port in Guangzhou, eastern China.
They have since been spotted at several other ports, including Nagoya, Osaka and Tokyo.
