The first record of Argentine ants Linepithema humile (Mayr, 1868) in Okinawa (March 2021)
A report of Argentine ants found in a container yard at Naha Port has been published in the Journal of the Biological Society of Okinawa. This is the first record of this species in Okinawa Prefecture. This paper is the result of a cross-organizational collaboration between our own researchers, the Naha Port Management Association, and emergency control and survey professionals. In recent years, new exotic ants have increasingly been discovered in Okinawa Prefecture, and the Environmental Science Section, as a research organization, has been engaged in alien species control and system-building through our Alien Ant Research Project. Increasing development of Okinawa’s trade network has led to the continuing discovery of alien ants. But since the fire ant scare of 2017, the monitoring network maintained by government agencies and research institutions in regions surrounding major prefectural ports has proven functional.