Red fire ant, one of the "strongest invasive species on the surface", is native to South America, and its Latin literary name means "invincible ant".
Just like their names, these little "terror corps" are booming and menacing.
Red Fire Ant (Photo courtesy of Lu Yongyue)
Fighting nation, "poison" hidden weapon
Fighting nation, "poison" hidden weapon Red fire ants are world-famous for their amazing combat effectiveness.
If you accidentally provoke these little guys, they will rush forward, bite your skin with their powerful jaws, and launch a continuous attack with the claw needles on the belly and tail.
The red fire ant not only shows no weakness in front of humans, but is also arrogant in nature.
"The strong reproduction and feeding ability of RIFA poses a serious threat to agricultural and forestry production and biodiversity.
"The strong reproduction and feeding ability of RIFA poses a serious threat to agricultural and forestry production and biodiversity.
RIFA can even cause harm to public facilities and electronic equipment.
Complex feeding habits, rapid reproduction, strong competitiveness, and prone to outbreaks within a short period of time after invasion-these characteristics make red fire ants recognized as one of the 100 most dangerous invasive species in the world.
Prevention and control every year, expansion every year
Prevention and control every year, expansion every year According to relevant records, the domestic red fire ant was first discovered in Taiwan in 2003, and the mainland was first detected in Wuchuan, Guangdong in 2004.
A high-density red imported fire ant nest found in Wuchuan, Guangdong in 2005 ( Photo courtesy of Lu Yongyue )
( Photo courtesy of Lu Yongyue ) "Red fire ants may have entered China through port quarantine loopholes at the earliest.
At present, the domestic red imported fire ants are mainly distributed in the Yangtze River Basin and the area to the south.
Although government departments and pest control experts have tried their best to chase and intercept them, the red fire ants continue to conquer the land with an extremely fast spreading speed.
Giant anthill in farmland (photographed by Xu Yijuan)
"The first problem is that the source of transmission is not fully controlled, and the current situation of prevention and control work has also seriously affected the work efficiency and prevention and control effects.
In addition, scientific prevention and control needs to be strengthened.
Joint defense and joint control, joint sniper
Joint defense and joint control, joint sniper Recently, nine departments including the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development launched a national joint prevention and control action for RIFA, and jointly issued the "Notice on Strengthening the Prevention and Control of RIFA.
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"The joint prevention and control of RIFA by the nine departments is not only a practical need, but also a new signal.
" Xu Yijuan said, "Under the requirements of epidemic prevention and control, the movement of people across the country has been reduced, which has limited the RIFA to a certain extent.
Human transmission, but due to the domestic focus of prevention and control on the new crown virus in the first half of 2020, the prevention and control of RIFA has basically stagnated, resulting in further spread of RIFA in serious areas.
Today, the establishment of a joint prevention and control mechanism for RIFA reflects the fact that RIFA has been established.
The serious harm of invasion can be seen at the same time that the national level pays more attention to the prevention and control of invasive alien species.
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“The new crown pneumonia epidemic has issued a warning that biosecurity risks are a major risk challenge related to national security and development.
” Lu Yongyue pointed out that the nine-sector joint prevention and control action is a follow-up to the “Biosafety Law of the People’s Republic of China” and “Plant Quarantine Regulations”.
After the promulgation of the Regulations on the Prevention and Control of Crop Pests and Diseases, another important move regarding the prevention and control of invasive alien species.
At the same time, some local governments have also strengthened supervision mechanisms for the prevention and control of alien species.
According to Lu Yongyue, Guangdong Province has now included the RIFA prevention and control work in the province’s evaluation of the province’s rural revitalization strategy; a provincial-level and prefecture-level city-level RIFA prevention and control expert guidance system combined with technical guidance experts for the prevention and control of RIFA has been established one after another.
Scientific and technological guidance, services, inspections and evaluations for the prevention and control of red fire ants throughout the province.
"This is of positive significance for clearly implementing the territorial responsibility for the prevention and control of red imported fire ants and improving the effectiveness and scientificity of the prevention and control work," he said.
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