Monday, November 19, 2012

"Electric Ant" or "Little Fire Ant" Workshop




Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Kona Imin Center

(76-5893 Old Government Rd., Holualoa, HI, 96725)

5:30 PM – 7:30 PM

 
*Bring your pesticide license to receive 1.5 RUP credits


The “Electric Antor “Little Fire Ant (LFA) or Wasmannia auropunctata is an ant that shouldn’t be taken lightly. This ant is found in much of East Hawaii and in several West Hawaii locations. The first LFA infested Kona coffee farm was also recently identified.


LFA may be easily and unintentionally transported to your farm, residence, or other locations on fresh fruits, mulch, plants, potted plants, cut flowers and foliage, lumber, etc. In addition, the Hawaii Department of Agriculture’s interisland quarantine protocol requires ALL propagative plant materials to be inspected by an HDOA Plant Quarantine Inspector prior to interisland transport to reduce the risk of spreading LFA and other pest to neighbor islands.

 
If this ant invades your property, home, and/or farm, these are some of your potential risks:


-     financial losses                                          -     disclosure issues

-     very painful stings                                     -     loss of labor

-     harmful to pet health and eyes                -    quarantine issues

-     loss of business                                         -     costly treatments

 

Learn about the Little Fire Ant from ant specialist, Cas Vanderwoude, as he provides an educational LFA presentation. Derek Shigematsu of the HDOA Pesticide Education and Certification Section will also discuss pesticide labeling, use, and handling. Furthermore, coffee farmer, Kim Johnson will talk about her personal experiences with finding LFA on her property and in her coffee field and how she has been affected by the ants. A question and answer session will follow.

 

Please preregister for this event by contacting Gina Bagarino at
808-322-4892 or emailing  Andrea Kawabata at andreak@hawaii.edu.
 

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