More than 2,000 venomous fire ants have been discovered in a shipping container from China that arrived at a port in Osaka Prefecture earlier this month, leaving two people hurt, government officials said.
More than 2,000 venomous fire ants have been discovered in a shipping container from China that arrived at a port in Osaka Prefecture earlier this month, leaving two people hurt, government officials said.
The discovery Friday of the invasive species native to South America is one of the largest in Japan, on a par with the estimated 2,000 fire ants discovered in Muko, Kyoto Prefecture in October last year, the Environment Ministry said. The ants in Osaka and Kyoto have since been exterminated. Fire ants have turned up in 12 prefectures including Tokyo since they were first discovered in May 2017 inside a container that was shipped from Guangzhou, China and unloaded in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, according to the ministry.
