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Solenopsis invicta, the fire ant, or red imported fire ant (RIFA), is a species of ant native to South America. A member of the genus Solenopsis in the subfamily Myrmicinae, it was described by Swiss entomologist Felix Santschi as a variant of S. saevissima in 1916. Its current specific name invicta was given to the ant in 1972 as a separate ...
In the 1930s, colonies were accidentally introduced into the United States through the seaport of Mobile, Alabama.Despite earlier views that cargo ships from Brazil docking at Mobile unloaded goods infested with the ants, [1] recent DNA research confirmed that the likely source population for all invasive S. invicta in the United States occurred at or near Formosa, Argentina, and virtually ...
Fire ant queens may live up to seven years and can produce up to 1,600 eggs per day, and colonies will have as many as 250,000 workers. [12] [18] The estimated potential life span is around 5 years and 10 months to 6 years and 9 months. [19] Young, virgin fire ant queens have wings (as do male fire ants), but they often cut them off after mating.
The red imported fire ants don't have many natural predators in Southern California, except for phorid flies. The key to killing a local colony of red imported fire ants is using a combination of ...
The southern fire ant (Solenopsis xyloni), also known as the Californian fire ant or cotton ant, [1]: 89 is a stinging fire ant native to southern parts of the United States. [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ] Its behaviour is similar to the red imported fire ant (S. invicta) , although its sting is less painful.
The Hawaii Ant Lab confirmed they were little fire ants and found them on 13 properties covering about 3.3 acres. A month later a local nursery in Waiahole reported suspected little fire ants ...
Fire ants sting in and around the eyes, mouth and nose which can cause blindness, swelling and suffocation. Fire ants also invade the food and water supplies of animals and deter them from feeding and drinking, leading to starvation and dehydration. Fire ants also damage crops by eating seeds and tunnelling through roots and stems.
The flies use fire ants' semiochemicals to locate the fire ant species Solenopsis invicta and can do so from up to 50 meters away. [1] While other species within the Pseudacteon genus have been found to be generalists and feed on a wide range of resources, in the field the P. tricuspis fly will only feed on its host. However, research in ...