2023-08-13 11:36:00
The omnipresence of this invasive species, favored by global warming, is wreaking havoc on agricultural fields and homes.
From our correspondent in Bastia, Julian Mattei
Published on 08/13/2023 at 11:36
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“If you don’t take things with a bit of philosophy, there is enough to drive you crazy. Martine Hervet is almost resigned. For several years, this 71-year-old market gardener, owner of a six-hectare estate in the Porto-Vecchio region (Corse-du-Sud), has been facing “carnage. »
His vegetable gardens are constantly overrun, like most of his crops. Here, no rodents or suids. His enemy has a name: Tapinoma magnum. An ultra-invasive and aggressive species of ant, which is a real nightmare for island farmers. “In the fields, we pick up what they leave us, deplores this market gardener, who has been farming these lands since 1983. They are everywhere and, for a few years, it is even worse: we live among ants. »
READ ALSODiscover these three invasive and little-known species of exotic insectsThe farmer observes this at each harvest: her tomatoes, eggplants and beans are reduced to a bare minimum. Lovers of dry lands and very comfortable in the heat, the Tapinoma devour most vegetables, fruits, and dry out trees by digging galleries around the roots.
“They impose a certain supremacy on the territory”
Farmers may spend hundreds of euros on powders of all kinds, but nothing seems to be able to stop this black ant, probably imported from the Maghreb by nurseries, which measures no more than three millimeters on average. “Corsica is one of the regions most affected in Europe by this proliferation, notes Cyril Berquier, entomologist of the observatory-conservatory of invertebrates of the office of the environment of Corsica.
Its super-colonies grow faster than most other species, which it gradually eliminates from its territory, imposing a certain supremacy. And the more they settle, the more they create an environment favorable to their development. According to this specialist, insecticides tend to aggravate the phenomenon: by weakening biodiversity, these products would promote the Tapinomawhich grows easily in poor and degraded environments.
Global warming, drought and urbanization are also a godsend for this ant which loves hot and arid soils. Farmer in San-Giuliano, on the eastern coast of the island, Nicolas Poli experienced this. On his farm, this invasive species resisted all insecticide treatments. “I tried everything, exasperated this forties. In ten years, I have seen them grow exponentially. With each attack, they multiply. When you work on the tractor, now they climb on your legs and inflict bites. It’s maddening. »
READ ALSO“We are going into the wall”: in Corsica, the distress of farmers in the face of droughtIn this agricultural area of the Corsican coast, farmers have even given up planting certain trees, such as apricot and peach trees, whose sweet fruits delight ants. At the end of his tether, after years of sluggish war against these intrusive insects, Nicolas Poli has created a Facebook group to collect testimonies and alert the public authorities. It must be said that farmers are not the only victims of the Tapinoma magnum. It also wreaks havoc in homes.
“We will not return to the situation before”
Thomas Simonetto knows something about it. Since the construction of his house in Cervione (Haute-Corse), four years ago, this real estate diagnostician “cohabits” with these ants, of which he sees columns passing every day at the four corners of his terrace, when they are not making noise. incursions into his home. “On a daily basis, this creates a situation of discomfort that is difficult to bear,” says this resident. They go through the windows, enter the walls and, as it is an omnivorous species, they eat everything. If you leave crumbs in your kitchen, five minutes later they come back. I see more and more of them in homes as part of my professional activity. People can’t take it anymore. »
How to get rid of these insects? The question torments even in the island institutions. The Corsican environment office is working on this subject within the framework of the European program Aliem, which aims to limit the risks of spreading invasive species in the Mediterranean. In the eyes of Cyril Berquier, this part is however far from being won: “The omnipresence of this ant is such that we will not return to the situation before, believes this scientist. We can try to restore a balance by maintaining the existing biodiversity, which is our best ally to prevent it from extending its empire. But we will have to learn to live with it, because it is likely that Man will disappear before the Tapinoma… »
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