Red
Hot Fire Ants
These ants get their common name from their very painful bites and stings. They are small, yellowish-red to black ants that are distributed from Virginia to Florida, and from Georgia to California. Most workers of this species vary in size. They usually nest in the ground, but sometimes a part of or an entire colony may be located within a structure, usually in wall voids near heat or moisture, such as near a chimney or a bath trap. The two most important species are the Red Imported Fire Ant (RIFA) and the Southern Fire Ant (SFA). Colonies of the RIFA may be as numerous as 30 to 100 per acre, with 80,000 to 250,000 ants per colony. Colonies with multiple queens may even be much larger. Mature queens may lay up to 1,500 eggs per day. Swarming may occur six to eight times per year. Ant swarms occur when winged females and males of a colony emerge in large numbers to disperse, mate and establish new colonies. A typical RIFA colony mound is rounded, about 18” high, and about 24” across. Fire ant mounds can damage farm machinery, and farm animals have reportedly been killed by multiple stings, numbering in the thousands, by stepping into RIFA mounds. People usually develop a blister-like pustule at the site of the sting and true allergic reactions to fire ants can be life threatening.