Fire Ants

The workers range in size, 1/16 inch to 1/4 inch, and are black, reddish brown or red and black. The waist (pedicel) has two nodes. The antennae are 10-segmented with a two-segmented club. Queen ants are larger (3/8 inch) and have no wings after mating.

Sterile female fire ant workers can sting repeatedly; they first bite, and while holding on to the skin with their jaws, inject venom with stingers at the end of their abdomens; unique venom produces a fire-like burning sensation and most people react by developing a whitish pustule or fluid-filled blister at the site of the sting after a day or two; some people are hypersensitive to stings and should be prepared for a medical emergence if stung; most people can tolerate multiple stings but may have problems with secondary infections at the sites of the stings. Fire ants are considered to be medically important pests of people, pets, livestock and wildlife; they can also be damage crops such as corn, sorghum, okra, potatoes, sunflowers and others by feeding on seeds, seedlings and developing fruit.

Life Cycle: Complete metamorphosis. Eggs hatch in eight to 10 days and larvae develop through four instars before pupating. Development requires 22 to 37 days, depending on temperature. Fire ants are social insects, and each colony contains one or more queen ants. Queen ants can produce about 200 eggs per day. A “mature” colony can contain over 200,000 ants along with the developmental and adult stages of winged black-colored male and reddish-brown female ants called “reproductives.” These ants stay in the colony until conditions exist for their nuptial flight.