Fire ants, (referred to as red ants in the U.K.), are stinging ants with over 280 species worldwide. They have several common names including Ginger Ants and Tropical Fire Ants (English), aka-kami-ari (Japanese), and Feuerameise (German).

Appearance

The bodies of fire ants, like all insects' bodies, are broken up into three sections: the head, the thorax, and the abdomen, with three pairs of legs and a pair of antennae. Fire ants can be distinguished from other ants by their copper brown head and body with a darker abdomen. The worker ants are blackish to reddish, and their size varies from 2mm to 6 mm (0.12 in to 0.24 in). These different sizes of the ants can all exist in the same nest.

Behavior

A typical fire ant colony produces large mounds in open areas, and feeds mostly on young plants, seeds, and sometimes crickets. Fire ants 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 called Solenopsin, a compound from the class of piperidines. For humans, this is a painful sting, a sensation similar to what one feels when burned by fire — hence the name fire ant — and the aftereffects of the sting can be deadly to sensitive individuals. Although fire ants do not typically seek out and attack the face, they are as likely to attack an exposed and vulnerable face as any other body part. The venom is both insecticidal and antibiotic. Researchers have proposed that nurse workers will spray their blood to protect them from microorganisms.

Fire ants nest in the soil, often near moist areas, such as river banks, pond edges, watered lawns and highway edges. Usually the nest will not be visible as it will be built under objects such as timber, logs, rocks, pavers, bricks, etc. If there is no cover for nesting, dome-shaped mounds will be constructed, but this is usually only found in open spaces such as fields, parks and lawns. These mounds can reach heights of 40 cm (15.7 in).

Colonies are founded by small groups of queens or single queens. Even if only one queen survives, within a month or so the colony can expand to thousands of individuals. Some colonies may be polygynous (having multiple queens per nest).

Roles

Queens

A queen is generally the largest individual in the colony. The primary function of the queen is reproduction; she may live for 6-7 years and produce up to 1,500 eggs per day. Many fire ant colonies will have more than one queen.

Males

Mate with the queen ant in order to produce eggs.

Workers

The workers are sterile females who build and repair the nest, care for the young, defend the nest, and feed both young and adult ants.

Introduced species

Although most fire ant species do not bother people and are not invasive due to biological factors, Solenopsis invicta, commonly known as the Red imported fire ant (or RIFA) is an invasive pest in many areas of the world, notably the United States, Australia, the Philippines, China and Taiwan. The RIFA was accidentally introduced into the United States due to a South American cargo ship coming to an Alabama port in 1918, but now infests the majority of the Southern and Southwestern United States.

In the US, the FDA estimates that more than US$5 billion is spent annually on medical treatment, damage, and control in RIFA-infested areas. Furthermore, the ants cause approximately US$750 million in damage annually to agricultural assets, including veterinarian bills and livestock loss as well as crop loss. Since September 2004, Taiwan has been seriously affected by the red fire ant.

The US, Taiwan and Australia all have ongoing national efforts to control or eradicate the species, but, other than Australia, none have been especially effective. In Australia an intensive program costing A$175 million has, at February 2007, eradicated 99% of fire ants from the sole infestation occurring in South East Queensland.

Symptoms and First aid

The venom of a fire ant sting causes stinging and swells into a bump. This can cause much pain and irritation at times, especially when stung repeatedly by several at once. The bump often forms into a white pustule, which is at risk of becoming infected if scratched, however if left alone usually go down within a few days. The pustules are unattractive and uncomfortable while active and, if the sting sites become infected, can turn into scars. Additionally, some people are allergic to the venom and, as with many allergies, may experience anaphylaxis, which requires emergency treatment. An antihistamine or topical corticosteroids may help reduce the itching.

First aid for fire ant bites includes external treatments and oral medicines.

• External treatments: a topical steroid cream (hydrocortisone), or one containing aloe vera.
• Oral medicines: antihistamines

Patients who experience severe or life threatening allergic reactions to fire ant insect stings should visit a doctor or hospital immediately upon contact as these reactions can result in death.

Other names

In Spanish, fire ants are known as hormiga colorada/roja (red ant) or hormiga brava (fierce ant). In Puerto Rico there is a native, very small and slow-moving kind of fire ant called abayarde. In Portuguese, they are called formiga de fogo (fire ant) and formiga lava-pé (wash foot ant).

Species

This species list is incomplete.

Solenopsis abdita Thompson, 1989 Solenopsis africana Santschi, 1914 Solenopsis albidula Emery, 1906 Solenopsis alecto Santschi, 1934 Solenopsis altinodis Forel, 1912 Solenopsis amblychila Wheeler, 1915 Solenopsis andina Santschi, 1923 Solenopsis angulata Emery, 1894 Solenopsis atlantis Santschi, 1934 Solenopsis aurea Wheeler, 1906 Solenopsis avia (Bernard, 1978) Solenopsis azteca Forel, 1893 Solenopsis balachowskyi Bernard, 1959 Solenopsis banyulensis Bernard, 1950 Solenopsis basalis Forel, 1896 Solenopsis belisarius Forel, 1907 Solenopsis blanda (Foerster, 1891) Solenopsis brasiliana Santschi, 1925 Solenopsis brazoensis (Buckley, 1867) Solenopsis brevicornis Emery, 1888 Solenopsis brevipes Emery, 1906 Solenopsis bruchiella Emery, 1922 Solenopsis bruesi Creighton, 1930 Solenopsis bucki Kempf, 1973 Solenopsis canariensis Forel, 1893 Solenopsis capensis Mayr, 1866 Solenopsis carolinensis Forel, 1901 Solenopsis castor Forel, 1893 Solenopsis celata (Dlussky & Zabelin, 1985) Solenopsis clarki Crawley, 1922 Solenopsis clytemnestra Emery, 1896 Solenopsis conjurata Wheeler, 1925 Solenopsis cooperi Donisthorpe, 1947 Solenopsis corticalis Forel, 1881 Solenopsis crivellarii Menozzi, 1936 Solenopsis daguerrei (Santschi, 1930) Solenopsis dalli (Kusnezov, 1969) Solenopsis decipiens Emery, 1906 Solenopsis delta (Bernard, 1978) Solenopsis deserticola Ruzsky, 1905 Solenopsis duboscqui Bernard, 1950 Solenopsis dysderces Snelling, 1975 Solenopsis egregia (Kusnezov, 1953) Solenopsis electra Forel, 1914 Solenopsis emeryi Santschi, 1934 Solenopsis eximia (Kusnezov, 1953) Solenopsis fairchildi Wheeler, 1926 Solenopsis foersteri Theobald, 1937 Solenopsis franki Forel, 1908 Solenopsis froggatti Forel, 1913 Solenopsis fugax (Latreille, 1798) Solenopsis fusciventris Clark, 1934 Solenopsis gallardoi Santschi, 1925 Solenopsis gallica Santschi, 1934 Solenopsis gayi (Spinola, 1851) Solenopsis geminata (Fabricius, 1804) Solenopsis georgica Menozzi, 1942 Solenopsis germaini Emery, 1895 Solenopsis globularia (Smith, 1858) Solenopsis gnomula Emery, 1915 Solenopsis goeldii Forel, 1912 Solenopsis granivora Kusnezov, 1957 Solenopsis hammari Mayr, 1903 Solenopsis hayemi Forel, 1908 Solenopsis helena Emery, 1895 Solenopsis hostilis (Borgmeier, 1959) Solenopsis iheringi Forel, 1908 Solenopsis ilinei Santschi, 1936 Solenopsis indagatrix Wheeler, 1928 Solenopsis insculpta Clark, 1938 Solenopsis insinuans Santschi, 1933 Solenopsis insularis (Bernard, 1978) Solenopsis interrupta Santschi, 1916 Solenopsis jacoti Wheeler, 1923 Solenopsis jalalabadica Pisarski, 1970 Solenopsis japonica Wheeler, 1928 Solenopsis joergenseni Santschi, 1919 Solenopsis juliae (Arakelian, 1991) Solenopsis kabylica Santschi, 1934 Solenopsis knuti Pisarski, 1967 Solenopsis krockowi Wheeler, 1908 Solenopsis laeviceps Mayr, 1870 Solenopsis laevithorax Bernard, 1950 Solenopsis latastei Emery, 1895 Solenopsis latro Forel, 1894 Solenopsis leptanilloides Santschi, 1925 Solenopsis longiceps Forel, 1907 Solenopsis loretana Santschi, 1936 Solenopsis lotophaga Santschi, 1911 Solenopsis lou Forel, 1902 Solenopsis lusitanica Emery, 1915 Solenopsis macdonaghi Santschi, 1916 Solenopsis macrops Santschi, 1917 Solenopsis madara Roger, 1863 Solenopsis major Theobald, 1937 Solenopsis maligna Santschi, 1910 Solenopsis mameti Donisthorpe, 1946

Solenopsis marxi Forel, 1915 Solenopsis maxillosa Emery, 1900 Solenopsis maxima (Foerster, 1891) Solenopsis megera Santschi, 1934 Solenopsis megergates Trager, 1991 Solenopsis metanotalis Emery, 1896 Solenopsis metatarsalis (Kusnezov, 1957) Solenopsis mikeyroxis Solenopsis minutissima Emery, 1906 Solenopsis moesta (Foerster, 1891) Solenopsis molesta (Say, 1836) Solenopsis monticola Bernard, 1950 Solenopsis mozabensis (Bernard, 1977) Solenopsis nicaeensis Bernard, 1950 Solenopsis nickersoni Thompson, 1982 Solenopsis nigella Emery, 1888 Solenopsis nitens Bingham, 1903 Solenopsis nitidum (Dlussky & Radchenko, 1994) Solenopsis normandi Santschi, 1934 Solenopsis novemmaculata Wheeler, 1925 Solenopsis occipitalis Santschi, 1911 Solenopsis oculata Santschi, 1925 Solenopsis oraniensis Forel, 1894 Solenopsis orbula Emery, 1875 Solenopsis orbuloides Andre, 1890 Solenopsis overbecki Viehmeyer, 1916 Solenopsis pachycera (Forel, 1915) Solenopsis papuana Emery, 1900 Solenopsis parabiotica Weber, 1943 Solenopsis parva Mayr, 1868 Solenopsis patagonica Emery, 1906 Solenopsis pawaensis Mann, 1919 Solenopsis pergandei Forel, 1901 Solenopsis photophila Santschi, 1923 Solenopsis picea Emery, 1896 Solenopsis picquarti Forel, 1899 Solenopsis picta Emery, 1895 Solenopsis pilosa (Bernard, 1978) Solenopsis pilosula Wheeler, 1908 Solenopsis pollux Forel, 1893 Solenopsis privata (Foerster, 1891) Solenopsis provincialis Bernard, 1950 Solenopsis punctaticeps Mayr, 1865 Solenopsis puncticeps MacKay & Vinson, 1989 Solenopsis pusillignis Trager, 1991 Solenopsis pygmaea Forel, 1901 Solenopsis pythia Santschi, 1934 Solenopsis quinquecuspis Forel, 1913 Solenopsis reichenspergeri Santschi, 1923 Solenopsis richardi Bernard, 1950 Solenopsis richteri Forel, 1909 Solenopsis robusta Bernard, 1950 Solenopsis rugiceps Mayr, 1870 Solenopsis rugosa Bernard, 1950 Solenopsis sabeana (Buckley, 1867) Solenopsis saevissima (Smith, 1855) Solenopsis salina Wheeler, 1908 Solenopsis santschii Forel, 1905 Solenopsis schilleri Santschi, 1923 Solenopsis schmalzi Forel, 1901 Solenopsis scipio Santschi, 1911 Solenopsis sea (Kusnezov, 1953) Solenopsis seychellensis Forel, 1909 Solenopsis silvestrii Emery, 1906 Solenopsis solenopsidis (Kusnezov, 1953) Solenopsis soochowensis Wheeler, 1921 Solenopsis spei Forel, 1912 Solenopsis stricta Emery, 1896 Solenopsis substituta Santschi, 1925 Solenopsis subterranea MacKay & Vinson, 1989 Solenopsis subtilis Emery, 1896 Solenopsis succinea Emery, 1890 Solenopsis sulfurea (Roger, 1862) Solenopsis superba (Foerster, 1891) Solenopsis targuia Bernard, 1953 Solenopsis tennesseensis Smith, 1951 Solenopsis tenuis Mayr, 1878 Solenopsis terricola Menozzi, 1931 Solenopsis tertialis Ettershank, 1966 Solenopsis tetracantha Emery, 1906 Solenopsis texana Emery, 1895 Solenopsis tipuna Forel, 1912 Solenopsis tonsa Thompson, 1989 Solenopsis tridens Forel, 1911 Solenopsis trihasta Santschi, 1923 Solenopsis truncorum Forel, 1901 Solenopsis ugandensis Santschi, 1933 Solenopsis valida (Foerster, 1891) Solenopsis virulens (Smith, 1858) Solenopsis vorax Santschi, 1934 Solenopsis wagneri Santschi, 1916 Solenopsis wasmannii Emery, 1894 Solenopsis weiseri Forel, 1914 Solenopsis westwoodi Forel, 1894 Solenopsis weyrauchi Trager, 1991 Solenopsis wolfi Emery, 1915 Solenopsis xyloni McCook, 1879 Solenopsis zambesiae Arnold, 1926 Solenopsis zeteki Wheeler, 1942

References

• Bert Hölldobler and Edward O. Wilson (1990). The Ants. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. ISBN 3-540-52092-9.
• Details use of Phorid flies
• ITIS: Solenopsis species list (2001)

External links

• Non-Chemical Natural Control, Bite Home Remedies, Mounds, Colonies, Information
• Biology, Control, and Management of Imported Fire Ants in North America at www.eXtension.org
• The Alabama Fire Ant Management Program
• Queensland Government Department of Primary Industries Fire Ants Homepage