Red imported fire ant

Solenopsis invicta Buren

(Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Red imported fire ant workers have a reddish body with a black abdomen. The head is as long as the thorax, and the waist consists of two segments. Workers range in length from 2.4 to 6.0 mm.

The complete life cycle from egg to adult can take up to 38 days. Depending on their size, workers may live between 30 and 180 days. Reproductive, winged adults disperse during mating flights, and individual mated females found new colonies. Only these queens produce eggs, and larvae are tended by worker ants. A typical colony consists of 80,000 workers.

Native to South America, the red imported fire ant is a major pest of agricultural lands, urban environments, and disturbed natural areas in the United States.

Fire ants bite and sting humans and animals, and they feed on literally any plant or animal material. These insects can displace native ant species. They can increase other agricultural pest problems, such as aphids, by tending them for the honeydew production.

Images 

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Worker of the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren

(Photographer: David Almquist, University of Florida)

Winged male red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren, surrounded by workers

(Photographer: Lyle Buss, University of Florida)

Young queen of red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren, surrounded by workers

(Photographer: Lyle Buss, University of Florida)