Overview

• Fire ants are forming 'flood rafts' to spread across storm-ravaged Australia, colonising new territories and posing a serious threat to native wildlife, agriculture, and humans.
• The ants, originally from South America, have been confined to south-eastern Queensland and a slither of New South Wales, but recent torrential rain and flooding are allowing them to expand their range.
• Fire ants are more active before or after rainfall and can form large floating rafts which move with water currents to establish footholds in new areas.
• The Invasive Species Council has called on locals in south eastern Queensland and northern New South Wales to be on high alert and report fire ant sightings.
• Australia has committed hundreds of millions of dollars to the fight against the creatures, with the Invasive Species Council hoping that the species can eventually be wiped out with a 10-year eradication programme.