Originally from South America, electric ants were spotted in a holiday home in Croix-Valmer, in the Var.
It measures only 1.5 millimeters, but is extremely invasive and represents a threat to biodiversity: the “electric ant”a species so nicknamed because of its painful sting, was seen at Croix-Valmer, in the Var.
This is the second time she has been spotted in France. In 2022, it is also in the south of France, in Toulon, that Wasmannia auropunctata or “little fire ant”native to South America, was spotted by an ant enthusiast in a closed seaside residence.
This year, this species native to South America was observed by a Croisian resident, Frédéric, quoted by France Inter. The latter alerted local authorities after seeing his children with bites “extremely irritating, like an electric shock” and “painful”. He says to himself “obliged to check where we sit, where we stand” in the garden of his vacation home infested by these insects.
Anaphylactic shocks
Wasmannia auropunctata is particularly invasive, even if it moves slowly, because it accumulates “a classical sexual reproduction system and production of queens and males by cloning”Olivier Blight, researcher at the Mediterranean Institute of Biodiversity and Ecology at the University of Avignon, explained to AFP. “His strength is his numbers”insisted the researcher, who had the species placed on the list of species of concern for the European Union.
Its sting causes “a nettle sensation, but stronger and longer, since it lasts 2-3 hours”and with this formidable weapon the electric ant can destroy insects, cause blindness in other animals, and scare them away permanently. In New Caledonia, “in the forests that it has invaded, we no longer hear any insect sounds”affirmed the expert.
In humans, in addition to painful stings, the electric ant can cause anaphylactic shock among allergic people. In the regions it has invaded, notes Olivier Blight, “its eradication has enormous costs”. Thus, in Queensland, Australia, which it has colonized since 2006, 30 million dollars have already been dedicated to the fight against Wasmannia auropunctata.
After the discovery of the first case of electric ant in Toulon in 2022, the species was immediately classified as an invasive exotic species of concern by the European Union.
