The red fire ant is about as mean as it looks (Image: April Noble/California Academy of Sciences)
They may be small, but red fire ants are a multimillion-dollar problem. Aggressive and venomous, they have invaded 14 US states and reached Puerto Rico, attacking people, wildlife and electrical systems. But Robert Vander Meer is hot on their trail. He originally gave himself four years to work out ways to control fire ants: 25 years later he is still hard at work. He spoke to Maggie McDonald about the scale of the infestation, and ways to fight back against the US’s…
