The Formosan termite is an invasive species in Louisiana, actually native to Asia. Now, a predator of that termite has made its way to the Bayou State in the stinging Asian Needle Ant. While this sounds like bad news on the surface, one bit of news about the pest might make Louisiana residents take notice: the ant specializes in feeding on Formosan termites. Could this new pest actually help put a dent in our longstanding termite problem? WWL’s Tommy Tucker spoke to Aaron Ashbrook, Assistant Professor of Urban Entomology at LSU about the issue.
“This ant is actually from Asia and lives in forested areas, which is also where we’ve discovered it here in Louisiana,” Ashbrook explained. “This ant does not create mounds in the traditional sense. They typically live in close association with termites and specialize in feeding on termites,” he went on to point out. Many WWL listeners took notice of that statement, as Formosan termites have been an invasive pest in their own right, causing a tremendous amount of damage since finding their way to Louisiana.
“They are a termite specialist and prefer to eat termites. I’m not sure what the impact will be on our Formosan subterranean termites. I’m sure those are here to stay. But, if the ants can reduce some of those numbers, I’m sure everyone would be happy,” added Ashbrook. The Asian Needle Ant also doesn’t have any natural predators to speak of, which could lead to them becoming more pervasive in the region.
However, Ashbrook was quick to tamper down some of the wilder expectations from some listeners. “I don’t think they would completely eliminate termites here. There could be some exclusion effects where the Asian Needle Ants come in and take over an environment and there would be fewer termites and other invasive ants in that area,” he told WWL’s Tommy Tucker. However, he noted that Formosan termites are most likely here to stay and he doesn’t expect the ants to impact termite populations in the region as much as most who live here might hope.
All that said, Ashbrook says the data is yet to play out and only time will tell what ecological impacts this new entomological interloper will have. For the time being, New Orleanians can cross their fingers and hope for at least SOME level of mitigation to the costly termite problem … in whatever unlikely form it may take.