Streets of Your Town - The Dangerous Hopper Ant

It’s been described by Sir David Attenborough as one of the world’s most dangerous ants. And it’s prolific, found in colonies throughout Australia, resulting in an estimated two hospital emergency admissions a week in Adelaide alone. The native hopper ant, also knows as the jack jumper, may be small but it packs a painful sting in its tail, so much so that for a significant number of people, it causes anaphylactic shock and even death. Yet two esteemed researchers tell us on this episode of Streets of Your Town that the hopper ant problem is not receiving the funding needed to properly respond to the growing number of allergic reactions.