IF ONLY all ecological pests were so easily dispatched. The Argentine ant (Linepithema humile), one of the world’s worst invasive species, is disappearing from New Zealand – without any human intervention.
The alien ant arrived in New Zealand in 1990 and has since marched across the nation’s two main islands. Dealing with the pest was projected to cost NZ$68 million (£33 million) per year.
Perhaps no longer. and colleagues at the Victoria University of Wellington say that alien ant colonies in 60 locations are collapsing on their own (Biology Letters, ). Lester thinks low genetic diversity,…
