Red fire ants are native to South America, but they have now been found all over the world. They are estimated to be the fifth most costly invasive species globally, killing plants and wreaking havoc on ecosystems wherever they end up.
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00:03 Red fire ants are native to South America,
00:05 but they have now been found all over the world.
00:08 They are estimated to be the fifth most costly
00:10 invasive species globally, killing plants
00:12 and wreaking havoc on ecosystems wherever they end up.
00:15 And now according to a new report,
00:17 they've been found swarming in Europe for the first time.
00:20 They were discovered in Italy,
00:21 and now that they have reached the mainland,
00:23 experts warn the rest of Europe is sure to follow.
00:25 Red fire ants are so dangerous
00:27 because of both their venomous bite and their numbers.
00:29 Current biology reports,
00:31 they can overwhelm even much larger prey
00:33 because they roll around in groups of half a million,
00:35 biting repeatedly.
00:36 They also overwhelm and destroy plants,
00:38 engulfing them and cutting off the food supply
00:41 to other creatures that need those plants to survive.
00:43 S. Invicta, as red fire ants are called scientifically,
00:46 have already spread to the Southern US,
00:48 China, Taiwan, Australia, the Caribbean islands,
00:51 Japan, and the Philippines,
00:53 traveling on goods that have been traded between nations.
00:56 They spread rapidly due to their ingenuity as well,
00:58 traveling underground, on the air,
01:00 or even via rafts made from their own species.
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