Fire Ants

Classification of Fire Ants

There are more than 280 species of fire ants, all belonging to the genus Solenopsis Solenopsidini quarter. All Seta fire ants have clypeal margin median individual in the anterior.

Nest of Fire Ants

A typical fire ant nest will consist of a large mound can be seen in the open. Continue to nest in the ground, and fire ants seem to prefer moist soil. You will often see a fire ant nest along the river and near the shores of lakes and ponds. They also appreciate the constant wet soil by humans, such as grass watered. A fire ant nest will rarely grow larger than one square meter and usually contain a few small holes in the surface. A second entrance that is used by ants vary from time to time.

Fire ant Food

Seedlings and young plants form the staple diet for most species of fire ants, but they are also known to kill and eat small animals.

Fire Ant Reproduction

Ant colony will produce winged males and females (queens) who congregate, friends and establish new colonies. Only the fertilized female fire ants that will last a life, the men all died shortly after swarming. The women will lose their wings after mating and started looking for a suitable place to form new colonies of fire ants. Some fire ants sometimes women will form a nest together, but after a few seconds only one queen will be left. In one year, the fire ant queen can produce thousands of worker ants and fire ants establish new colonies.

Invasive Species of Fire Ants

As mentioned above, there are about 280 species of fire ants, all original with their own specific parts of the world. Human trade and travel have however allow for fire ants spread into new environments where they become invasive species. In their native districts, fire ants run by parasites and predators which gradually developed in conjunction with fire ants and is very skilled when it comes to attack them. Competition between various types of native ants is also important when it comes to organizing success of each species. In their native districts, fire ant populations be kept in check by the above factors and rarely a problem for humans. When fire ants hitchhike with humans and spread to new environments in which the local fauna and flora are not familiar with them, they will sometimes reproduce so rapidly. This is not just a problem for the natural eco-systems, but is also a problem for people in the area since the fire ant population increases the risk of explosion and fire ant bites fire ant meeting.

Red Imported Fire Ants

The most famous example of the species of fire ants that have become invasive species because human trafficking is Solenopsis INVICTA, red imported fire ants. This ant is sometimes referred to as "Rifa" and original South American continent. Today, it is available in the Philippines, China, Australia, eastern and southern United States and considered a pest in this region.