Fire ants are a genus of nearly 200 species of ants that occur in tropical regions of the world, such as Central and South America, and in some temperate regions, such as North America. The best-known member of the genus, the red imported fire ant, was a
The red fire ant, a species imported from South America that has spread extensively within the southeastern United States, where it has become a major pest of humans and animals; it readily stings humans, producing local swelling and pruritus with development of a pustule at the site of the ...
in 1918, and it wasn’t until the 1930s that red fire ants were introduced. The red ant population has since exploded, and the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services believes there are five times more ants per acre in the U.S. than in their native South America. Cicadas appear ...
An electrophoretic study of the genetics of 3 species of Solenopsis in North America was undertaken with the primary objective of clarifying the genetic relationship between the 2 social forms of S. invicta. Such social forms may, in some species of ants, represent significant intermediate stages ...
introduced throughout the U. S. Southeast, starting with Travis, Brazos, and Dallas counties in Texas, as well as Mobile, Alabama, where the ants first entered North America. Not all introductions have been successful, but the fly has been established in some sites in every southeastern state...
The researchers believe the crazy ants’ healing powers evolved there, where competition for resources is most fierce. The ants then brought this ability with them to the United States. “They come north, and they meet their old enemies from South America, and they express t...
If this happens, fire ant colonies would be out-competed and population densities of this pest in the United States would drop to levels more like those normally found in South America where fire ants are not considered a major pest. For most of the last decade, decapitating flies in the ...
The present known ranges of the imported fire ants Solenopsis richteri and S. invicta in North America and South America are shown. Hypothetical answers are given to the questions of how far the species will spread in North America, why both species first became established in the Mobile, Alab...
An invasive ant species that has become increasingly abundant in eastern North America not only takes over yards and delivers a nasty sting, it's helping the spread of an invasive plant species. The ants are very effective dispersers of invasive plant se
The black imported fire ant, Solenopsis richteri, also native to South America, is a species closely related to S. invicta. These two species invaded the United States through the same entrance: the port of Mobil, Alabama. Although S. richteri was introduced and established earlier than S. ...