Insects · Hymenoptera · Formicidae

South American Fire Ant

Solenopsis invicta

Not Evaluated

It has not yet been assessed against the IUCN criteria. See full glossary

The red fire ant — known in Spanish as hormiga roja de fuego or hormiga colorada — is a hymenopteran insect of the family Formicidae native to South America. It is one of the best-known ant species for having a strong, painful and persistently irritating sting that often leaves a pustule on the skin. It was introduced as an invasive species into the southern United States, Australia, Taiwan, the Philippines, Puerto Rico and China, specifically Macau and southern Guangdong province. It is included on the list of 100 of the world's worst invasive alien species drawn up by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Size

2 cm – 6 cm

Lifespan

7 years

Diet

Omnivore

Combines animal and plant food depending on availability.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

Colony

Lives in large concentrations, often for breeding reasons.

Sighting difficulty

Unknown

GrasslandOmnivore Diurnal Colonial Insect Grassland

23countries10same family

Fun facts

comportamientoIt can form living rafts that behave like a non-Newtonian fluid, changing shape under pressure, to survive floods.
It is on the IUCN list of the 100 most damaging invasive alien species in the world.
In the areas it has invaded it damages crops, livestock, native wildlife and even electrical installations, where it builds up inside cabinets and causes short circuits.
Its scientific name, invicta, means unconquered.
When the nest floods, the workers link together to form floating rafts up to 45 cm across that keep the queen and the brood out of the water, and that can stay adrift for weeks.
A mature colony has between 200,000 and 400,000 workers, and the queens live up to seven years.
In its native range there are about 30 mounds per hectare; in invaded areas the figure reaches 5,000.
It gets into electrical equipment — traffic lights, air conditioners, well pumps — and gnaws the insulation; in the United States the total cost attributed to it exceeds 6 billion dollars a year.

Life cycle & biology

Habitat & environment: Open, sunny ground — grassland, abandoned fields, verges, gardens — where it raises earth mounds up to a metre across and a metre high

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solenopsis_invicta