Well, it happened today people. For the first time since I was a child, I was bitten by a fire ant. The rarity of these bites for me isn’t because our state lacks them. Oh no, we have plenty of big bad ants. But because I avoid them like the plague, I tend to not get bit. But after taking my dog to the park and seeing dozens of ant mounds, I decided I’d make the Florida fire ant the subject of today’s article.
Florida Fire Ant: Overview
You can find two species of fire ants in Florida. One of them you won’t run into that often, and that’s the native fire ant. But today we’re going to discuss a different species. The red imported fire ant. There are a few other species across the country, but in Florida, the imported one is what you’re going to run into more often than not.
The red imported fire ant is native to South America. But that hasn’t been it’s only home for quite some time. This species of pest has established populations in the U.S., all the way as far as Australia.
In the U.S., the red imported fire ant was introduced from Brazil either through Mobile, Alabama or Pensacola, Florida between 1933 and 1945. It also heavily infests Puerto Rico and many southwestern states from Maryland to southern California. In fact, as of August of 2008, around fifteen states have reported infestation.
Florida Fire Ant: Identifying them
When it comes to identifying this biting pest, you can start with their workers. Red imported fire ant workers range in size, making them polymorphic. The head is wider behind the eyes with rounded lobes at the top. They have ten segments in their antennae, with the number of teeth being the real distinguishing features from southern native fire ants. Red imported fire ants have three teeth on the front of their head, as opposed to two. But it’s not their teeth that you really have to worry about. The red imported fire ants do not inflict painful bites, but it’s their stings that are the worst part.
These ants will sting humans who disturb a nest. The sting is painful and often results in a raised welt that becomes a white pustule. Usually, when you get stung by one, they will try to do so over and over again until you remove them from your body.
These pest lives in mounds as opposed to hills, and the mounds are made out of whatever local soil they find. They’re usually smaller than eighteen inches in diameter. But when that mound is disturbed, the ants will flood forth two relentlessly grab and sting the intruder. You can find these mounds in open and disturbed areas like lawns, pastures, and croplands. They’re often built at the base of young trees in citrus orchards as well. Sometimes, they may not be evident, and the mound is built in a downed log or other rotten wood.
Ant Farm
From here they will feed on flowers, fruits, trunks, twigs, and other parts of host trees or plants. They may even nest in and plug up irrigation lines. They also Indirectly harm citrus by protecting honeydew-secreting insect pests from natural enemies. This protection can disrupt biological control programs targeting honeydew-secreting insects and result in larger populations of pest species including scales, aphids, whiteflies, etc.
Florida Fire Ant: Life Cycle
The lifespan of these ants depends on their size. Small workers live from thirty to sixty days, medium living sixty to ninety, while the largest can live up to 180 days. Queens may live from two to six years. The complete lifecycle from their egg form to adult takes around thirty days.
Red imported fire ants can occur in very high densities in citrus orchards and other human-modified agricultural systems. They are also highly aggressive and can out-compete other ant species for resources. Mating flights are the primary means of ant colony propagation. However, RIFA has both single and multiple queen forms, so a portion of a colony can branch off to become an autonomous unit.
Colonies generally contain a few large workers (major workers), many medium-sized workers (media workers), and a majority of small workers (minor workers). The three types of workers are all sterile females and serve to perform tasks necessary to maintain the colony. The queen (or queens) is the single producer of eggs. Mature colonies may contain as many as 80,000 – 240,000 workers.
The diet of foraging workers consists of dead animals, including insects, earthworms, and vertebrates. Workers also collect honeydew. Larvae are fed only a liquid diet until they reach the third instar. When the larvae reach the fourth instar, they are able to digest solid foods. Worker ants will bring solid food rich in protein and deposit it in a depression in front of the mouth of the larvae. The larvae will secrete digestive enzymes that break down the solid food and regurgitate it back to worker ants.
What Do You Do?
Identification of fire ants in the genus Solenopsis is difficult and requires evaluating a series of different-sized workers. In addition, members of this genus are known to interbreed.
The red imported fire ant is a generalist predator. Therefore, the presence of the ant may be beneficial when consuming other pest species. However, the red imported fire ant is viewed as a pest based on other negative impacts they may have on agricultural operations.
RIFA is capable of both biting and stinging. The sting is composed of an alkaloid-based venom with neurotoxic activity. The sting is responsible for both the pain and the pustule.
So, the real long and short of it? Call a pro. Once an established infestation becomes a problem, especially in a home, it can become a genuine threat due to the aggressive nature of this species of ant. It doesn’t take much for them to swarm, and a small dog or a baby won’t be too much of a match for thousands of clinging, stinging ants from South America.
