According to a study by the universities of Parma and Catania, together with the Spanish Institute of Evolutionary Biology, this insect is already spreading across the southern island of Sicily, in places close to the city of Syracuse.

Experts´ concern stems from the fact that the also called Warrior Ant has the ability to spread rapidly, causing serious damage to ecosystems, agriculture, as well as human health, and among its affectations are those caused to electrical and communications equipment.

This hymenopteran (Solenopsis invicta) is a generalist predator that reduces the diversity of invertebrates and small vertebrates in places where its colonies settle, which can reach enormous sizes, with a negative impact, especially among young, weak or sick animals, due to its venom.

The scientific team managed to identify in recent days 88 nests in an area of 4.7 hectares near Syracuse, each inhabited by thousands of worker ants, but residents of the area claimed the fire ants have been living there since at least 2019, so invasion may be more extensive.

Originally from South America, the fire ants spread rapidly to other continents, moving with the wind and with the help of man who contributed to its expansion through maritime trade and the transport of plant products, so that in less than a century it reached Caribbean nations, Australia, China, Mexico and the United States.

After the sighting in Italy, researches have began to determine its exact origin, and although the results are not yet definitive, DNA analysis suggests that they probably come from the United States or China.

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