Red imported fire ant

Solenopsis invicta · The red imported fire ant is a stinging ant native to South America that has spread to places like the United States, Australia and parts of Asia.

Also called RIFA, Red fire ant.

Red imported fire ant
Photo: Hugo A. Quintero G. from Medellin, Colombia, CC BY 2.0
Red imported fire ant
Photo: Wing-Chi Poon, CC BY-SA 2.5
Red imported fire ant
Photo: Judy Gallagher, CC BY 2.0

Taxonomy

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumArthropoda
ClassInsecta
OrderHymenoptera
FamilyFormicidae
GenusSolenopsis
SpeciesSolenopsis invicta

Where it lives

Native to Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay; invasive in the southern US, Australia and China.

Fun facts

  • When water levels rise, fire ants link together into a floating raft, with the workers on the outside and the queen safely inside.
  • A fire ant raft can stay afloat for as long as 12 days.
  • A mature fire ant colony can hold anywhere from 500,000 to 2,000,000 ants.
  • Fire ant mounds have no visible entrances; workers travel through tunnels and pop out far away from the nest.

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Facts and taxonomy adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).