Hawaii has a big problem with little fire ants that have started raining down on people and stinging them, and it's changing life on the islands as residents know it.
In interviews with SFGate, Hawaiian officials described scenes from a horror movie in which people are bitten in their beds while sleeping, causing painful blisters.
Heather Forester of the University of Hawai'i's Hawaii ants lab told the Gate that they are changing the way of life in Hawaii. You used to be able to hike to the beach. They are able to rain down on people.
She said that the ants can move into people's homes. A lot of people have reported that they were stinging people while they slept.
Since 1999, little fire ants have been found on the islands, but the most recent one is the largest Hawaii has ever seen.
It's gotten so bad there that the Kauai Invasive Species Committee has launched a huge public service announcement campaign to alert residents about help they can receive to detect or deal with these tiny monsters.
The Gate notes that this latest outbreak appears to have begun on private property and spilled over a cliff into a lush valley that provides the ants with the chance to float down the river and create colonies elsewhere.
It's not clear if the ants have gotten to the river, but when and if they do, it will only get worse.
Haylin Chock said that that would ruin the entire state park. They can climb trees if they reach that point. It is a wonderful place for them. How are we supposed to find out where they are?
The situation is taking the form of a plague, which the islands don't need since they were impacted by the COVID-19 Pandemic.
There are more buggies in the film.
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