Where did red imported fire ants come from?
The red imported fire ant (RIFA) probably entered the United States (U.S.) in the 1930s in materials shipped from Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina. By 1985, RIFA had spread from their point of entry in Mobile, Alabama, to much of the southern U.S. In November of 1998, California’s first colony of RIFA was discovered in Orange County. As of January 2007, colonies of RIFA have been found in areas of Orange, Riverside, Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties. Isolated RIFA colonies associated with agricultural production are currently under treatment in Fresno, Madera, Merced, and Stanislaus Counties.
