2025 Volume 28 Issue 2 Pages 109-115
The red imported fire ant (RIFA; Solenopsis invicta), native to South America, is one of the most notorious invasive alien species, known for causing various extensive economic damage in the regions they invade. After invading the United States in the 1930s, RIFA began expanding into Asian countries in the early 2000s, establishing populations in China and several other countries. Recently, further dispersal has been observed from these newly invaded regions into Japan and South Korea, where the first RIFA invasions were reported in 2017. The primary RIFA invasion route into these countries has been through maritime logistics using sea containers. Therefore, to prevent future invasions and establishment of RIFA, the most critical measure for pre-invasion control is the development of “clean” maritime logistics systems that minimize the risk of RIFA transportation. We have been developing a RIFA repellent transportation technology utilizing allyl isothiocyanate (AITC), a natural insect-repellent compound derived from wasabi (Eutrema japonicum). To control the high volatility of AITC, we chose to utilize microencapsulated AITC (mAITC), which encapsulates AITC within resin microcapsules. After verifying the repellent and fumigant effects of mAITC against RIFA in small-scale experiments, we conducted trials using actual sea containers. These experiments demonstrated that mAITC effectively prevents the invasion of RIFA into cargo. The implementation of mAITC in maritime transportation is expected to play a crucial role in preventing the global invasion of RIFA while simultaneously reducing the risk of invasive alien species being introduced through maritime logistics.
