Imported fire ants, Solenopsis invicta Buren and Solenopsis richteri Forel, are aggressive insects that, in large number, can seriously injure or even kill livestock, pets, and humans. Imported fire ants are not native to the United States. They feed on crops and build large, hard mounds that damage farm and field machinery.

 

Fire ants look very much like ordinary house or garden ants.

 

 

 Fire ants:

Are small
Are coppery-brown in colour on the head and body, with a darker abdomen
Come in a variety of sizes within one nest, ranging from 2mm to 6 mm. This is a distinguishing feature of fire ants

 

Have nests with no obvious entry or exit holes on top of them
Can be distinguished by their aggressive behaviour, particularly near the nest
Their nests can appear as dome-shaped mounds, up to 40cm high, or can be found next to, or underneath other objects found on the ground, such as timber, logs, rocks, pavers, bricks etc. Mounds will not always be evident, but are usually found in open areas such as lawns, pastures, along roadsides and unused cropland. Mounds are rarely found in frequently cultivated areas. This species could easily be confused with the common coastal brown ant and as well as some local native ants.

 

Fire ants inflict a fiery sting, which causes a small blister or pustule to form at the site of each sting after several hours. The blisters become itchy while healing and are prone to infection if broken.

 

 

Apply a cold compress to relieve the swelling and pain.
Gently wash the affected area with soap and water and leave the blister intact.
People who are allergic to insect stings should seek medical attention immediately. On rare occasions, fire ant stings can cause severe acute allergic reaction (anaphylaxis)

 

Four species of fire ants are currently found within the contiguous southeastern United States. The tropical fire ant, Solenopsis geminata Fabricius, and the southern fire ant, S. xyloni McCook, are considered species "native" to the area. The two imported species of fire ants were introduced into the United States from South America at the port of Mobile, Alabama. The black imported fire ant, Solenopsis richteri Forel, arrived sometime around 1918 and the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren, in the late 1930's. The presence of imported fire ants in the United States was first reported in 1929 by Loding. Both species probably came to the port in soil used as ballast in cargo ships. In the years preceding the arrival of the red imported fire ant, the black imported fire ant slowly spread into adjacent counties in Alabama and Florida. Since its introduction, the red imported fire ant, a much more aggressive species than the black imported fire ant, has spread quickly. By the time of the first official survey carried out by the USDA in 1953, imported fire ants had invaded 102 counties in 10 states (Culpepper 1953). Today, the red imported fire ant has spread throughout the southeastern United States and Puerto Rico  replacing the two native species and displacing the black imported fire ant. Currently, S. richteri is found only in extreme northeast Mississippi, northwest Alabama and a few southern counties in Tennessee.

Not to be confused with Army ants. Army ants are not found in the United States.

Army ants are a quarter of a inch long when full grown. They are brown and black and have skin. Army ants are found in the rainforest of South America. Army ants can't kill large vertebrates, but African driver ants can. A tethered cow is occasionally discovered, smothered in ants, asphyxiated and bleeding internally from where the insects swarmed in through its ears, mouth and nose. It will take weeks to reduce the carcass to polished bone. Cooped chickens, on the other hand, are stripped in a day or two. A few unlucky humans have died the same way, but these cases are rare, usually involving unconscious or inebriated individuals, as well as the occasional baby whose cries go unanswered in the night.

Army Ants
Sub-Family: Ecitoninae (New World), Dorylinae (Old World)
Genus: Eciton
Featured Species : Eciton burchellii

 

 

Distribution: Known as "the Huns and Tartars of the insect world," Army ants are found in Africa and Asia as well as South and Central America . New and Old World species that display the army ant syndrome probably shared a common ancestor before the breakup of Gondwana some 100 million years ago. Eciton burchellii inhabits the tropics and subtropics of South and Central America as well as Mexico .

 

Habitat: E. burchellii prefers hot and humid lowland tropical forests.

 

Appearance: Soldiers have large heads and sickle-shaped mandibles and serve exclusively as a defensive force. Workers have short, clamp-shaped mandibles and are generalists. Diet: Army ants are migratory hunters that feed mainly on hard-bodied creatures such as insects, spiders, and scorpions, but they will eat just about anything they can subdue. Colonies of E. burchellii are enormous, sometimes numbering up to 2 million individuals. They can devastate an area of more than 1,800 square yards in a single day, so they must constantly move to new areas. During what is called the migratory phase, the ants set up a temporary camp called a bivuac in a new site nearly every night. As many as 150,000 to 700,000 worker bodies cover and protect the queen, linking legs and bodies in a mass that measures a meter across. Thousands of larvae are located near the center with the queen, and workers are responsible for feeding them. Larger workers also serve as porters, carrying larvae to new bivouacs. In the morning, the bivouac dissolves into raiding columns that form a fan-shaped front. These raiding columns can travel up to 20 meters per hour with lead workers laying a chemical trail for other workers to follow. Smaller workers lead the column, while larger, formidable soldiers protect the flanks.

 

Mortality �?Longevity: The queen and her colony can live 10 - 20 years. Workers generally live about one year, while males die shortly after mating.

 

Other: Cooperative behavior of army ant colonies takes many forms. When they come to a stream, some species interlock their legs and bodies, forming a bridge up to a meter across upon which others can walk. When caught in a flood, they quickly form a ball that floats down stream. It is also claimed that the jaws of the soldier have been used as sutures to hold together the edges of a wound.