What are red imported fire ants? What makes them different from native ants?
Red imported fire ants are mediumsized ants that build mounds of soft soil rarely larger than 18″ in diameter. The ants emerge out aggressively when they are disturbed and sting. Their sting usually leaves a white pustule the next day. Harvester ants are much larger and make large bare areas with a single entrance hole to the colony. Leaf cutter ants are also much larger and do not have a distinctive builtup mound, but do have many entrance holes over a very large area. Other small to mediumsized ants that build small mounds will actually run away from disturbances and aren’t fire ants. Can I tell the difference between them and native fire ants? How large are they? Some confusion comes from the fact that red imported fire ants come in a variety of sizes (1/16 to almost 1/4 inch long) with the largest workers 2 or 3 times larger than the smallest. Native fire ants are less common in imported fire ant infested areas. Solenopsis geminata is the most common native fire ant species encount
