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EXHIBIT A PROCEEDINGS OF THE HAWAIIAN ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY(2016) 48:39-50 39 The History of Little Fire Ant Wasmannia auropunctata Roger in the Hawaiian Islands: Spread, Control, and Local Eradication Casper Vanderwoude',Michelle Montgomery,Heather Forester, Ersel Hensley,and Michael K.Adachi Hawaii Ant Lab,Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit,University of Hawaii at Manoa, 16 E. Lanikaula St Hilo,Hawaii. 'Corresponding author: casperv@hawaii.edu Abstract.The islands of Hawaii have been the battleground for successive"inva- sion waves"by exotic ants for over a century.The arrival of Pheidole megacephala (Fabricius)(the big headed ant)in the late nineteenth century,was followed in 1939 by Linepithema humile(Mayr)(the Argentine ant)and Anoplolepis gracilipes(fr. Smith), (the longlegged Ant) in 1953.The most recent arrival is the little fire ant (Wasmannia auropunctata Roger) which was first recorded in 1999. This paper chronicles the subsequent spread of W.auropunctata through the Hawaiian archi- pelago. Initially introduced and spread via the import and sale of nursery plants, W. auropunctata is now well-established on the island of Hawaii. Ubiquitous on the windward side of Hawaii island, W. auropunctata are now being transported not only via nursery plants but also via non-agricultural products.The prevention, detection and response to W. auropunctata introductions is addressed by infor- mal and ad hoc partnerships between a number of agencies,each contributing to preventing and reducing spread of this species. The draft Hawaii Inter-Agency Biosecurity Plan recognizes and strengthens these partnerships and will contribute positively to Hawaii's biosecurity system. Key words:invasive ants,Hawaii,Wasmannia auropunctata,biosecurity,biologi- cal invasions, Pacific, little fire ant Introduction et al. 1990).The number of new ant species Native ants are thought to be naturally has accumulated steadily over time to 47 absent from the islands of the eastern (Krushelnycky et al. 2005),with the cur- Pacific, including those of the Hawaiian rent number of species a little higher due archipelago(Wilson and Taylor 1967).All mostly to taxonomic revisions. ant species currently recorded in Hawaii Of these,four ant species are especially are widespread cosmopolitan tramp spe- noteworthy due to their ecological and cies that have been introduced by human economic impacts worldwide, featur- travel and commerce(Krushelnycky et al. ing prominently in the IUCN list of the 2005).The biota of Hawaii has evolved in world's worst invasive species (Lowe et the complete or nearly complete absence al. 2000). The bigheaded ant (Pheidole of ants, which most likely resulted in an megacephala (Fabricius)) was first re- ecological predisposition to invasions by corded in Hawaii as early as 1879 (Smith exotic ant species along with increased 1879), at which time it was already well impacts such invasions may cause(Reimer established. In the years that followed,