Fire Ant - Solenopsis invicta X richteri
This is a hybrid of two species, the Red Imported Fire Ant - Solenopsis invicta - and the Black Imported Fire Ant - Solenopsis richteri. Gradually S. invicta is displacing S. richteri from the entire U.S. through hybridization.
The Red Imported Fire Ant is found throughout the southern United States, from Virignia to California and is continuing to spread. It was introduced from South America sometime between 1933 and 1945.
It will eat almost anything, plant or animal, alive or dead.
The Red Imported Fire Ant is the most aggressive and widespread of the fire ants found in North America. If their nest is stepped on, the workers rush out and sting the feet and legs of the intruder. Each sting results in a small, acutely painful wound that develops into a pustule in 24 to 48 hours. As the pustules heal they become itchy and can become infected.
Despite their aggresive reputation, they do have a species of beetle that lives with them in their nests, a type of scarab beetle known as Martineziana dutertrei.
Fire Ant - Solenopsis invicta X richteri
This is a hybrid of two species, the Red Imported Fire Ant - Solenopsis invicta - and the Black Imported Fire Ant - Solenopsis richteri. Gradually S. invicta is displacing S. richteri from the entire U.S. through hybridization.
The Red Imported Fire Ant is found throughout the southern United States, from Virignia to California and is continuing to spread. It was introduced from South America sometime between 1933 and 1945.
It will eat almost anything, plant or animal, alive or dead.
The Red Imported Fire Ant is the most aggressive and widespread of the fire ants found in North America. If their nest is stepped on, the workers rush out and sting the feet and legs of the intruder. Each sting results in a small, acutely painful wound that develops into a pustule in 24 to 48 hours. As the pustules heal they become itchy and can become infected.
Despite their aggresive reputation, they do have a species of beetle that lives with them in their nests, a type of scarab beetle known as Martineziana dutertrei.