Name

Fire Ants

Brief Description

Belonging to the Solenopsis invicta family

Extended Description

Fire ants are stinging ants of which there are over 280 species worldwide.
A typical 'fireant colony produces large mounds in open areas, and feeds mostly on young plants and seeds. Fireants often attack small animals and can kill them. Unlike many other ants, which bite and then spray acid on the wound, fire ants only bite to get a grip and then sting (from the abdomen) and inject a toxic alkaloid venom. For humans, this is a painful sting, which leaves a sensation similar to what one feels when they get burned by fire — hence the name fire ant — and the aftereffects of the sting can be deadly to sensitive individuals. The venom is both insecticidal and antibiotic. Researchers have proposed that nurse workers will spray their brood to protect them from microorganisms. The worker ants are blackish to reddish and vary from 3–6 mm in length.

Fire ants nest in the soil, often near moist areas, such as river banks, pond edges, watered lawns and highway edges. A single nest is usually less than a square yard, and may have several small openings on the surface or in cracks; the ants shift the entrance during the season and may move young ants between openings.

Colonies are founded by small groups of queens or single queens. Only one queen survives, and within a year or so, the colony expands into thousands of individuals.