Fire Ant

Solenopsis invicta, more commonly referred to as fire ants, are a particularly devastating invasive species to the southeastern United States. First introduced in the 1930s to Mobile, Alabama, the ants probably arrived via cargo ships from Brazil or Argentina. Since the 1930s, fire ants have spread to almost the entire southern United States, ranging from Florida north to Maryland and west to Texas, including Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Tennessee. More recently, fire ants have been discovered in California, southern China, Australia, and the Philippines.

Fire ants are typically more aggressive than native ant species, and swarm when disturbed. Although human death due to fire ant stings is extremely rare, swarming fire ants do kill small mammals and birds, particularly ground-nesting species, and can totally eliminate some species ...