Ants bug Tindal

By Andrew Stackpool

Quick-thinking personnel at RAAF Base Tindal helped to prevent the arrival into Australia of unwanted insect visitors.

Photo illustration by PTE John Wellfare.

* Ants discovered in packaging of equipment sent to Tindal from Japan were first sprayed with insecticide, then baited, then frozen.

OBSERVANT and very quarantine-aware Air Force personnel have prevented an unwanted visitor settling in Australia.

On August 22, staff at RAAF Base Tindal opened a small wooden box of cargo from Japan and discovered several live ants and ant eggs inside the box. The quick-thinking Air Force personnel sprayed the contents of the box with insecticide and sealed it to ensure none of the hitchhikers escaped.

Tindal then contacted Katherine interstate quarantine Department of Primary Industry, Fisheries and Mines officer Alison Jacks, who regularly carries out duties on behalf of the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS).

Ms Jacks responded to the Air Force call for help. The next day she took a sample of the ants, after which the box was baited with ant bait and resealed until the ants were identified.

The box and its accompanying cargo were ordered into quarantine.

Ms Jacks said that although the specific species of ant had not yet been established, the identification of the ants came as a nasty surprise.

“These particular stowaways were identified as belonging to a species group that originates in South East Asia – so the ants are exotic and of potential concern to Australia.

“The ant is not aggressive like the Red Imported Fire Ant, but since it is not native to Australia, its establishment here could have serious environmental or economic impacts,” she said.

On August 29, Ms Jacks returned to Tindal to continue her investigations. The cargo was carefully unpacked and inspected to ensure that none of the ants were in the equipment or packaging.

The nest was found and quickly sealed into bags and placed in a freezer, where it remained for 10 days to ensure that all the travellers had been killed. Samples from the nest were then taken for entomologists to conduct further scientific studies on this potential pest.

Two days later, Ms Jacks and Air Force personnel examined other containers that had arrived with the infected item, but no more traces of ants were found. All the containers and packaging will be incinerated in the No. 322 Health Flight incinerator.

As a final precaution, the building was “bombed” with three aerosol insect bombs. Careful checks of the area the next day found no further evidence of the would-be Aussies.

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