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I just watched the show “Fire! Little Fire Ants in Hawaii” and it left me feeling so frustrated.
It was made mostly on Maui; several times the Big Island was cited as the source of the ants. Excuse me? They came from someplace else, and y'all didn't think it important to prevent invasive species, or to support BI efforts to eradicate; now you've just written us off--"Hawaii Island will always have LFAs." But it's vitally important that they don't spread to the other (more worthwhile?) islands.
And by the way, how come the BI got infested by imported plants (from Florida, I've heard), but the other islands didn't? Could some of their infestations actually be coming from Florida, too?
The show is not scheduled to be shown again, but it wasn't really helpful if you live on BI. They talked about testing for LFAs, then sending your samples in for confirmation, but then just said that "HDOA will help you control it"
Cas Vanderwoude was in it, warning against poisoning the land with pesticides, but didn't give any information about how to get rid of them.
The website http://stoptheant.org/ was mentioned for more info, but, again, is aimed at the other islands, not BI, and the message is to report infestations.
More helpful is the Hawaii Ant Lab site, http://www.littlefireants.com/ which does have tips on controlling them.
Sorry for the rant. I'm just feeling (again) like the BI is the abandoned stepchild of Hawaii.
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how come the BI got infested by imported plants
There are many more plant nurseries on Big Island than the other islands, and more growers here who travel the world looking for new varieties to introduce to Hawaiian plant & flower growers. There is a quarantine system in place, most of the time it works but when it fails it fails spectacularly as with fire ants and coquis.
“There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them.”
-Joseph Brodsky
"I'm at that stage in life where I stay out of discussions. Even if you say 1+1=5, you're right - have fun." - Keanu Reeves
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My yard in HPP is full of them. All I have to do is brush against a tree or shrub and I get bitten. I also found them along the oceanfront. I feel sorry for the dogs and cats that are getting continually bitten if they go outside. I also read somewhere that California is seriously considering a ban on the importation of plants from Hawaii Island. And yes I also watched that show on tv and it does sound like they have written Hawaii Island off with regard to fighting the buggers because it is so widespread. Kids are even getting bitten in parks and schools! Of course they keep the publicity to a minimum because of the tourists.
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Air cargo now requires all fruit and vegetables are inspected for fire ants before growers can ship from Hilo to another island.
“There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them.”
-Joseph Brodsky
"I'm at that stage in life where I stay out of discussions. Even if you say 1+1=5, you're right - have fun." - Keanu Reeves
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While I hesitate to add yet one more to the list of lawsuits in this litigation addicted society, a class action number against the State of Hawaii for it's "we'll let the Big Island suffer, but defend the others at all costs" attitude might be in order. If that isn't selective neglect and/or discrimination, I don't know what is.
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"we'll let the Big Island suffer, but defend the others at all costs"
Exactly -- just look at State's response to the rhino beetle (discovered on Oahu), to say nothing of the TAT "redistribution", Federally-funded "interstate" highways (only on Oahu), Federally-subsidized rail transit (only on Oahu), customs terminal for international flights (only on Oahu), etc.
Lucky enough to have health insurance, but need to see a specialist? Fly to Oahu... your 15-minute appointment will take you all day, but that's okay, you weren't busy...
I freely grant that Oahu has most of the population, but they seem to also have all the money, not just their "fair share" 80%.
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a start would be to start using their real name, Electric Ant... so they are NOT confused with different species in the US
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_ant
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save our indigenous and endemic Hawaiian Plants... learn about them, grow them, and plant them on your property, ....instead of all that invasive non-native garbage I see in most yards... aloha
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save our indigenous and endemic Hawaiian Plants... learn about them, grow them, and plant them on your property, ....instead of all that invasive non-native garbage I see in most yards... aloha
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In, Wasmannia auropunctata, queens produce more queens through parthenogenesis. Sterile workers usually are produced from eggs fertilized by males. In some of the eggs fertilized by males, however, the fertilization can cause the female genetic material to be ablated from the zygote. In this way, males pass on only their genes to become fertile male offspring. This is the first recognized example of an animal species where both females and males can reproduce clonally resulting in a complete separation of male and female gene pools.[8][9]
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save our indigenous and endemic Hawaiian Plants... learn about them, grow them, and plant them on your property, ....instead of all that invasive non-native garbage I see in most yards... aloha
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save our indigenous and endemic Hawaiian Plants... learn about them, grow them, and plant them on your property, ....instead of all that invasive non-native garbage I see in most yards... aloha
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The show mentioned that Maui has the only dedicated quarantine center--where they can take a shipment indoors and unload it to check for pests. Other ports and airports do the inspections outdoors, often in the sun or rain, when pests may not come out to be seen.
They're talking about adding another...on Oahu, of course.
They also said that there are no native ants in Hawaii. Most ants are OK, and I appreciate the ones that fertilize plants in my greenhouse, but I'd kinda be willing to sacrifice the innocent ones to get rid of the LFAs.
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Malihini do know Hawaii island is known for how much smuggling goes on (since they are the ones doing it). How quickly everybody forgets the axis deer smuggling that was going on. It seemed getting them on a sailboat would be the stealthiest way to conduct deliberate smuggling. No, they went over the top and used helicopters. Look to the origin of that and it was well-heeled Maui hunters that wanted more diverse hunting options for their hunting stay-cations on Hawaii island. That was a Puna area thing.
This smuggling is wide spread. You would think the axis deer smuggling was almost a ridiculous comic book story and it is tame to other things going on. There is no doubt the coffee borer beetle was brought in on smuggled African arabica coffee plants. Somebody felt the approved varieties was too limiting.
The rapid ohia death started in Puna, and not only Puna, but in a several block radius of Pohoiki. Ceratocystis fimbriata is killing eucalyptus in Australia. It can be carried by bark boring beetles. Somebody smuggling something in from Australia and living in the middle of the initial Pohoiki outbreak would explain things.
Coqui frogs began in Puna, fire ants began in Puna, poison African snails began in Puna, axis deer almost began in Puna, rapid ohia death began in Puna. All these invasives are from malahini that "love" this place, to death.
"Aloha also means goodbye. Aloha!"
*Japanese tourist on bus through Pahoa, "Is this still America?*
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