Fire Ant Archive

Back in the 1930s some unwelcome aliens traveled by freighter to the United States. They came with a strong sting and rendered inactive any life form caught in their path. This species is called the Red Imported Fireant. Today, over eighty years later, it continues to wreck havoc in the agricultural industry. It has also been the cause of the quick evolution of a lizard in the US who has grown longer legs to be able to flee more quickly from this aggressive Fireant.

Management programs were developed wherever these ants resided. Once a non-indigenous species enters a new habitat they kill the weaker lifeforms and over time develop into super species and in the case of the Fireant, this translates to many millions of ants.

Forty-percent of the people in the US living in ant infested areas have been bitten by the fireant. When they attack they come in swarms travelling like a red wave over golf courses, school yards, and parks. They can destroy electrical systems as well as wild life that nests in the ground. It is clear that the fireant is more than a serious nuisance. Today fireants occupy 300 million acres in the United States, and that includes Hawaii. They continue to expand their area.

The dark red color appears on the head and body. They can easily penetrate cracks and enter buildings since their anatomy allows them to twist and wriggle freely. The queen lays the eggs, usually in the summer. The unfertilized eggs become winged males who mate with the queens.

The fertilized fireant becomes the female worker who either becomes a winged virgin queen or worker fireants delegated to nest duties.

It takes thirty days for the ant to become an adult. The queen’s life expectancy can be up to seven years, with the potential for laying 1600 eggs daily.

There are over two hundred eighty-five species of stinging ants in the world. The Fire Ant is considered to be one among these. Sometimes they are also called Red Ants and Ginger Ants.
Why is there a separate Ant species group that stings? All too typically a non-indigenous species gets introduced to a geographic area they are not native to. They are more aggressive than the indigenous species and usually the alien overpowers the indigenous species.

The most aggressive in the world of the Fire Ant is the Red Imported Fire Ant. It entered the US onboard a ship in the 1930s. It has now taken over the southern and southwest portion of the US. It is more than their sting that hurts. They destroy about £750 million in the death of livestock, medical bills, and the loss of crops. This super species of Fire Ant, interestingly enough, has been the cause for an evolved lizard who has grown longer legs to escape the aggressive fire ant.

People who are allergic to the alkaloids and piperidine of the ant’s venom, can actually die if they do not receive quick medical care. For most people red welts will appear but eventually subside in a day or two.
Many laboratories are working on projects to better manage these destructive ants.

The annual expense in damages in Texas from the fire ant is £1.2 billion. There is a management program available online for residents of Texas to refer to with recommendations on how to manage the imported fire ant population in their community. At best, efforts are made to keep them under control but the population of these pests is surging in other part of the world like Australia.

As more intercontinental trade develops the greater the likelihood that these aggressive creatures will find tamer habitats to occupy elsewhere in the world.