The management office at Kenting National Park is carrying out a large-scale baiting program for yellow crazy ants in order to reduce the destructive effect they have on the crab population in the area.
A team of scientists has been working with the office to address the decline of the local crab population caused by Anoplolepis gracilipes, commonly called yellow crazy ants, biologist Lin Chung-chi (林宗岐) said on Thursday
It was discovered in 2015 that the ants, one of the most invasive species in the world, were attacking the crabs in Kenting, spitting out venom that blinds the crabs, thereby rendering them unable to forage for food.
Crabs that have been attacked slowly starve to death.
Given the adverse effect that these ants can have on the ecosystem, Lin and a colleague, Liu Hung-chang (劉烘昌), were entrusted by the park with the task of eliminating them.
The ants have covered 30 percent of the area of Banana Bay (香蕉灣) and 40 percent of the area across the bay.
Starting in Banana Bay, Lin’s team has set up 100 stations with ant bait that is made up of table sugar mixed with boric acid, which is commonly used to kill ants and other pests.
If the bait is effective, the project would be expanded to other areas next year, park officials said.
Kenting National Park is not the first tourist attraction in the world to have reported a problem with crazy yellow ants.
The ants have long occupied Australia’s Christmas Island, severely threatening the red crabs inhabiting the area in the past few years.
Scientific studies have shown that the ants have displaced an estimated 15 million to 20 million crabs from their burrows and have essentially depleted Christmas Island’s red crab population.
Lin said that the ants do not bite or sting, but their venom can cause allergic reactions in some people.
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