Basic Fire Ant Information
|
|
Origin of Fire Ants in the United States
Fire ants are a stinging insect. They belong to the same order as bees and wasps and are known to attack with no warning, stinging their victims repeatedly. The venom of a fire ant is unique. It contains very high concentrations of poisons.
Fire ants appeared in the United States sometime after World War II and are believed to have been transferred through South American grass sod or woody plants that are commonly used in landscaping. With no natural predators in the United States, the ants soon flourished. The ants spread by means of seasonal relocations, migration of nursery stock, natural flights, wind, or flooding. They have managed to make themselves a major pest in the United States.
The federal government recognized them as a serious threat sometime in the late 1950s. Efforts were made to destroy them by using WWII bombers to dust millions of acres with poisons. The results were less than acceptable since not only the fire ants died, but also opossums, dogs, birds, fish, raccoons, and cattle.
Originally infesting 90 million acres, the government found that in just five short years, the fire ants grew to inhabit roughly 126 million acres. In 1958 a 'fire ant quarantine' was put into effect. Plant life such as hay, sod, landscaping plants, and soil were now required to be inspected and treated before they could be imported into the country.
In the 1960s, the government again tried to eradicate the fire ant in the United States, but that effort too was futile. By 1981, studies showed that more than 1 million homes were using poisons to treat for fire ants. Today there are over 157 chemical concoctions registered for fire ant control. Nothing has seemed to stop them in their tracks and the fire ant population continues to grow, spreading northward. It is estimated that fire ant infestation is well over 300 million acres in just the U.S. and Puerto Rico, and they are isolated at this time to mainly in the southern U.S. states.
Fire ant infestation is credited for lessening the population of the Bobwhite (a ground nester), possums, armadillos, raccoons, and snakes, because the ants are predators of their helpless young.
New infestations of fire ants have also been identified as recently as 2001 in such countries as Australia, the Philippines, Taiwan, China, and others.
Geographic Location in the United States:
Fire ants are firmly established in the southeastern United States. They can be found in the following states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.
There are isolated colonies that have been found in California and as far north as Kansas City, Missouri. Recently colonies have been seen in New Mexico and Nevada as well. Authorities are aggressively destroying infestations in those states, but fire ants are pretty relentless and if you live in one of those places, you should not be surprised if they come to your area.
The California infestation is known to exist in 11 counties and, alarmingly, those counties currently ship plants into Oregon, which may lead to another state being subject to the pest.
Entomologists are not sure whether fire ants can actually live in the cool and wet winters typical of western Oregon. But they are sure that they will survive along the western strip of the state and could move as far north as Washington.
Different Kinds of Fire Ants:
There are four basic species of fire ants in the United States that you could have:
The Red Imported Fire Ant - Solenopsis invicta
The Red Fire Ant originated in either Argentina or Paraguay, South America. These are the hardiest of the species and growth is tremendous once they are established.
Note: the Red Fire Ant has recently been identified in Australia.
The Black Imported Fire Ant - Solenopsis richteri
Populations of the Black Imported Fire Ant are limited to northern Mississippi and Alabama and they, too, are from South American (Argentina and/or Uruguay).
The Southern Fire Ant - Solenopsis xyloni
This is a native species that occurs from North Carolina south to northern Florida and along the Gulf Coast and west to California.
The Native Fire Ant - Solenopsis geminata
The Native Fire Ant is sometimes referred to as the Tropical Fire Ant. It is seen in South Carolina to Florida and as far west as Texas.
The Life Cycle of the Fire Ant:
Part of treating fire ants is an understanding of the ant’s life cycle and behavior. Like all ants, an individual fire ant begins life as an egg. Eventually the egg hatches into a grub-like larva. The larva has no legs, and with its white color and very soft body the larva is basically defenseless and must depend totally on worker ants for proper nourishment and care.
With nothing but feeding and growing as its main objectives, the larva will attain most of its adult size in this stage of development. The growing process is achieved by a series of moltings or shedding of their skin.
When the larva has reached the appropriate size, it then becomes a pupa. The pupa will display the features of some adult body parts, such as legs. In some cases the pupa will have wings. This pupa stage is simply a small transition between larva and adult and the final molting produces an adult.
As with most insects, the adult's basic functions are to reproduce and disperse. And as with the ant species, only queens and kings can reproduce. All remaining ants are sterile workers.
Basic Behavior:
With mounds being located in open areas such as fields, pastures and lawns, the fire ant will feed mainly on young plants, seeds and typically insects such as crickets. But fire ants do attack small animals and will work together to kill them by biting and spraying acid on the wounds.
During an attack they will first bite the victim in order to get a good hold on them, and then with their abdomen they will sting or inject alkaloid venom known as piperidine.
The sting itself feels just like the victim has been burned by fire, thus the name 'fire ants'. The venom is both an insecticidal and an antibiotic. Worker ants will at times spray their young for protection from a variety of microorganisms
The nests of fire ants can also be found in the soil located near moist areas. When found in these locations they are not usually visible since they will typically be located under logs, rocks, bricks, landscape timbers, pavement, etc.
If the colonies are located in open spaces, then the telltale mound will definitely be visible.
Although fire ants do migrate, their main means of spreading is through humans. Transporting sod, building materials, cotton seed, soil, roof tiles, paint, nursery plants, and honeybee hives, all have been known to carry the ants to new locations. It has even been found that cars and recreational vehicles have occasionally carried fire ants into new areas.
Feeding Habits:
The typical fire ant diet consists of sugars, proteins, oils, seeds, plants and insects. Their preference are proteins such as meats and insects, but they will eat just about anything.
Their voracious scouting for food has been known to damage crops such as soybeans, blueberries, peanuts, sunflowers, watermelons, blueberries, cucumbers, pecans, eggplant, corn, okra, strawberries and potatoes. They will destroy crops by foraging directly on the plants or the insects that are on the plants.
Fire ants will also feed on seedlings and seeds that are germinating. They have been known to chew tree bark and the tips of citrus trees or feed on the fruits of the tree.
Usually the oldest of the colony's workers will leave the nest to forage. These workers will travel anywhere from 50 to 100 feet from the nest looking for food. The workers will forage in a looping pattern, finding liquids or solids to feed on.
Worker ants cannot chew with their mandibles. They can only swallow liquids. The worker will generally swallow liquids and return to the nest to tend to the colony. Once they are in the nest, they, like other ants, will share their food by regurgitating. The liquids are then licked or sucked up by the others.
If the workers should encounter solid foods, they will then use their mandible to cut small pieces and carry it back to the nest.
Sources and Useful Links::
http://www.safe2use.com/pests/fireants/fireants2.htm
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/TOOLS/ANTKEY/biolmeta.html
http://www.getipm.com/thebestcontrol/fireants/fireants3.htm
http://www.extension.org/pages/Geographic_Distribution_of_Fire_Ants
Return to Fire Ants Guide Home Page