Mark Hogan from Black Star Radio talks to Gareth Humphreys and Jared Barlow from the Wet Tropics Management Authority about the invasive Crazy Ant

A new infestation of yellow crazy ants has been detected by the Wet Tropics Management Authority near Gordonvale.

Officers from the Authority detected the infestation in rugged country within the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area while they were carrying out routine surveillance last month as part of the Yellow Crazy Ant Eradication Program.

Yellow crazy ants are considered to be one of the world’s top 100 worst invasive species and have been present in Far North Queensland for over a decade, but the persistent efforts of the Authority’s Eradication Program have seen widespread infestation contained in recent years.

When yellow crazy ant numbers hit super colony levels, they’ve been known to leave entire forests silent and can become a severe threat to people and pets. Yellow crazy ants are also a huge threat to agriculture in Australia’s warmer regions. They farm sugar-secreting scale insects and encourage the growth of sooty moulds that can dramatically reduce the productivity of crops like fruit trees and sugar cane.