Where Did The Red Imported Fire Ant Originate?
There are many species of fire ants in the United States, but the most serious fire ants are four in the species Solenopsis, the Red Imported Fire Ant, the Black Imported Fire Ant, the Southern Fire Ant, and the native fire ant. Distinguishing between imported and native species of a fire ant is difficult, even for the experts. Fire ants are tick predators, normally yards with fire ants do not have ticks. If there are no ticks in the yard, there is less danger of disease. Fire ants also control the ground stage of horn flies. Introduced from Western Brazil, this fire ant species quickly becomes the number one fire ant pest wherever it crops up. The main reason for this is when it was introduced into the United States about 60 years ago its natural enemies were left behind in South America. Since 1958, over 7,100 compounds have been evaluated for delayed toxicity against this one ant. The Red Imported Fire Ant is associated with disturbed habits, mostly created by humans, and is abundan
