Fighting Fire Ants With a Virus of Their Own (2/2)

But one solution could come from the ants themselves, in the form of a virus that some of them carry. This virus may someday help control the population.

Scientists at the United States Department of Agriculture began to work with the virus about 5 years ago. The researchers observed 168 nests of imported fire ants in Florida. They found the virus in almost one-fourth of them. The researchers found that the virus affected every part of fire-ant development, including the eggs. The affected colonies died in about 3 months.

Now, government researchers want to work with a private company to produce large amounts of the virus. It could then be used as a biological" class="hjdict" word="biological" target=_blank>biological control.

Other natural ways to fight the fire ants are also possible. One is the South American phorid fly. It lays its eggs on fire ants. When the eggs break open, the young flies eat the brains of the ants. But researchers do not know how well the flies would do in North America.