Post by Jenny on Feb 16, 2006 21:24:30 GMT
(Website Article)
IT’S ABOUT 75 DEGREES, SUNNY AND THE GROUND IS DRY. SOUNDS LIKE A GOOD DAY FOR A PICNIC, DOESN’T IT? WELL, IF YOU THINK SO, CHANCES ARE THAT THE ANTS WILL TO.
THERE ARE 8,804 IDENTIFIED ANT SPECIES IN THE WORLD. OF THAT NUMBER, ONLY ABOUT 20 ARE CONSIDERED PESTS. THE EARLIEST ANTS ARE ABOUT 80 MILLION YEARS OLD, WHEREAS THE ANTS WE KNOW TODAY ARE PROBABLY ONLY ABOUT 65 MILLION YEARS OLD.
ANTS ARE AN ADVANCED SOCIAL INSECT, AND BECAUSE THEY ARE SO DIVERSE, THEY ARE ALSO ABUNDANT. IN AN ANT COLONY, THE QUEEN CONTROLS EVERYTHING AND MAINLY SETS THE PACE FOR POPULATION NUMBERS BY LAYING EGGS. IN A SINGLE QUEEN COLONY, FOR EXAMPLE, THE QUEEN CAN LAY HER WEIGHT IN EGGS IN 24 HOURS. IN MULTIPLE-QUEEN COLONIES, INDIVIDUAL PRODUCTION ISN’T THAT HIGH. AFTER THAT, WORKERS TAKE CARE OF EVERYTHING WITH A CLEARLY DEFINED DIVISION OF LABOR AMONG COLONY MEMBERS.
ANT COLONIES RANGE IN NUMBER FROM THE THOUSANDS TO THE MILLIONS, DEPENDING ON THE SPECIES. THE DEVELOPMENT CYCLE GOES FROM EGG TO LARVA TO PUPA AND THEN THE ADULT. THE WHOLE CYCLE TAKES ABOUT 25 TO 35 DAYS, DEPENDING ON THE SPECIES. A TYPICAL COLONY OF 250,000 TO 500,000 FIRE ANTS WOULD BE LARGE ENOUGH TO KILL A CALF OR A FAWN.
AFTER A COLONY REACHES A CERTAIN AGE (USUALLY ABOUT 18 MONTHS TO TWO YEARS), THE ANTS START PRODUCING REPRODUCTIVE MEMBERS. SOME HAVE MATING FLIGHTS, WHILE OTHERS MATE IN THE NEST. EITHER WAY, WINGED REPRODUCTIVES ARE FORMED. LIKE MOST SOCIAL INSECTS, MALES ARE ONLY USED FOR REPRODUCTION AND THEN THEY DIE.
ANT COLONIES KEEP ORGANIZED THROUGH THE USE OF PHEROMONES FOR COMMUNICATION, STRICT DIVISION OF LABOR AND FOOD DISTRIBUTION.
MOST OF THEIR COMMUNICATION IS THROUGH PHEROMONES. THIS TELLS THE WORKERS WHO THE QUEEN IS AND THAT SHE MUST BE PROTECTED AT ALL COSTS. WORKERS LEAVE PHEROMONE TRAILS TO LEAD OTHER COLONY MEMBERS TO FOOD SOURCES.
DIVISION OF LABOR IS ANOTHER WAY THAT COLONY ORGANIZATION IS MAINTAINED. IN A FIRE ANT COLONY, LARGE WORKERS ARE USED FOR MOVING LARGE PARTICLES, AND SOMETIMES THEIR ABDOMENS ARE USED FOR FOOD STORAGE. CONTRARY TO WHAT IS SOMETIMES THOUGHT, LARGE WORKERS ARE NOT USED FOR DEFENDING THE NEST.
IN ADDITION TO SIZE, AGE ALSO PLAYS A ROLE IN DETERMINING ANT WORK ASSIGNMENTS. AS WORKERS GET OLDER, THEY USUALLY BECOME FORAGERS AND MOVE AWAY FROM THE NEST.
THE THIRD IMPORTANT ASPECT OF AN ANT COLONY IS FOOD DISTRIBUTION. FORAGERS FIND FOOD OUTSIDE THE NEST AND FEED IT TO OTHER MEMBERS BY WAY OF TROPHALLAXIS (EXCHANGE OF FOOD FROM THEIR INTERNAL GLANDS). THEY BRING IT BACK TO THE NEST AND GIVE IT TO RESERVES, WHICH EITHER STORE IT OR PASS IT ALONG TO THE NURSE ANTS. NURSES WHICH ARE THE YOUNGEST WORKERS, FEED THE QUEEN AND THE BROOD. ADULT WORKER ANTS INGEST LIQUID NUTRIENTS ONLY.
IDENTIFYING CHARACTERISTICS. THIS ANT HAS TWO SEGMENTS (NODES) IN THE PEDICEL. WORKERS ARE POLYMORPHIC (VARY IN SIZE), APPROXIMATELY 1/8 TO ¼ INCH 3 TO 6 MM LONG. ANTENNA ARE 10-SEGMENTED, ENDING IN A TWO-SEGMENTED CLUB. THE MANDIBLE HAS FOUR DISTINCT TEETH AND A STING IS PROMINENT AT THE ABDOMEN'S TIP. BODY COLOR IS VARIABLE, USUALLY REDDISH WITH A BLACK GASTER (STOMACH OR ABDOMEN).
QUEENS. THE FIRE ANT QUEEN APPROACHES ½ INCH/13 MM IN SIZE AND IS DARK REDDISH-BROWN IN COLOR. IT HAS THE 10-SEGMENTED ANTENNA ENDING IN A TWO-SEGMENTED CLUB THAT IS CHARACTERISTIC OF THE GENUS.
DISTRIBUTION. THE RED IMPORTED FIRE ANT APPARENTLY WAS INTRODUCED INTO MOBILE , ALABAMA, OR PENSACOLA, FLORIDA, AREA FROM CENTRAL BRAZIL BETWEEN 1933 AND 1945. THE BLACK IMPORTED FIRE ANT WAS APPARENTLY INTRODUCED BEFORE THE RED SPECIES AROUND 1918 IN THE MOBILE AREA. THE BLACK VARIETY IS CONFINED TO A MUCH SMALLER RANGE AND NOW INHABITS NORTHEASTERN MISSISSIPPI, NORTHWESTERN ALABAMA, AND A SMALL AREA IN SOUTHWESTERN TENNESSEE.
BIOLOGY AND HABITS. A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF RESEARCH ON THE BIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY OF THIS IMPORTANT PEST HAS BEEN PERFORMED AND ACCUMULATED. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ANT FROM A HUMAN HEALTH PERSPECTIVE DUE TO ITS PROPENSITY FOR STINGING AND ITS ABUNDANCE IN INFESTED REGIONS. EIGHTY-THREE DEATHS HAVE BEEN REPORTED BY 1989 DUE TO FIRE ANT STINGS.
THE IMPORTED FIRE ANT ALSO NEGATIVELY IMPACTS THE NATIVE FAUNA (OTHER INSECTS) WHEREVER IT BECOMES FIRMLY ESTABLISHED. ONE STUDY IN TEXAS (1990) SHOWED THAT POLYGENE FIRE ANT COLONIES DECIMATED THE INDIGENOUS ANT FAUNA.: SPECIES RICHNESS OF ANTS IN INFESTED AREAS DROPPED BY 70%, WHILE THE TOTAL NUMBER OF NATIVE INDIVIDUALS DROPPED BY 90%. OF 35 SPECIES OF ANTS COLLECTED IN THIS STUDY, 23 WERE EITHER SIGNIFICANTLY LESS COMMON OR ABSENT FROM INFESTED SITES.”
FIRE ANTS COMMONLY NEST NEXT TO AND INSIDE ELECTRIC APPLIANCES, SUCH AS AIR CONDITIONERS, HEAT PUMPS, AND TRAFFIC CONTROL BOXES, OFTEN DISRUPTING SERVICE OR DAMAGING THIS EQUIPMENT. THESE ANTS ARE ATTRACTED TO BOTH AC AND DC CURRENTS EQUALLY AT THE SAME VOLTAGE AND WILL ACTUALLY SHORT-CIRCUIT OR DAMAGE ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT BY SWARMING OVER RELAY SWITCHES.
IMPORTED FIRE ANTS ALSO CAUSE DAMAGE TO HIGHWAYS, ROADWAYS, AND AIRPORT RUNWAYS. POTHOLES MEASURING UP TO 1.4 M IN LENGTH AND 15 CM DEEP CAUSED BY FIRE ANTS ARE COMMON IN NORTH CAROLINA AND FLORIDA HIGHWAYS.
FIRE ANTS ARE VORACIOUS FORAGERS AND WILL EXPLOIT MOST ANY FOOD SOURCE, PARTICULARLY SLOW-MOVING ARTHROPODS THAT CANNOT ESCAPE THEM. THEY ARE CONSIDERED BENEFICIAL IN THAT THEY PREY UPON MANY PLANT PESTS AND EVEN FLEA LARVAE IN HOMES. THIS ANT IS ATTRACTED TO OILS, AND THIS FACT IS USED WITH SUCCESS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF FIRE ANT BAITS.
MULTIPLE QUEEN COLONIES. PRIOR TO THE EARLY 1970s, FIRE ANT MOUNDS WERE FOUND TO CONTAIN ONLY ONE QUEEN (MONOGYNE); HOWEVER, MULTIPLE QUEEN (POLYGYNE) MOUNDS WERE DISCOVERED AND THEIR PREVALENCE HAS INCREASED SINCE. ONE COLONY IN MISSISSIPPI WAS DUBBED “QUEEN CITY” BECAUSE IT CONTAINED MORE THAN 3000 FIRE ANT QUEENS. POLYGNE COLONIES DIFFER FROM MONOGYNE COLONIES IN THE FOLLOWING WAYS: (1) THE MOUNDS ARE MORE NUMEROUS AND SPACED MORE CLOSELY TOGETHER; (2) THEIR WORKERS ARE MUCH SMALLER WITH VERY FEW LARGE WORKERS PRESENT; (3) THE WORKERS ARE LESS AGGRESSIVE TOWARD NEIGHBORING COLONIES; AND (4) THE QUEENS LAY FEWER EGGS AND WEIGH LESS. DUE TO THE NUMBER OF QUEENS, HOWEVER, THE TOTAL NUMBER OF EGGS PRODUCED IS FAR GREATER IN A MULTIPLE QUEEN COLONY.
LIFE HISTORY. THE LIFESPAN OF WORKERS DEPENDS UPON THEIR SIZE, WITH MINOR WORKERS LIVING 30 TO 60 DAYS, MEDIAS 60 TO 90 DAYS, MAJORS 90 TO 180 DAYS, AND QUEENS TWO TO SIX YEARS. LIFE CYCLE FROM EGG TO ADULT, IS COMPLETED IN 22 TO 38 DAYS.
NESTING HABITS. THE RED IMPORTED FIRE ANT BUILDS MOUNDS IN ALL TYPES OF SOIL EXCEPT SWAMPLAND AND DENSE FOREST. THE TYPICAL MOUND IS A CONICAL-SHAPED SOIL DOME THAT MEASURES 1 TO 2 FEET/30 TO 60 CM IN DIAMETER AND I.5 FEET/45 CM IN HEIGHT. IN LOW MARSHY TERRAIN, MOUNDS MAY BE 3 TO 3.5/90 TO 105 CM FEET IN DIAMETER AND UP TO 3FEET/90 CM HIGH. THE MOUNDS SURFACE WILL BE COVERED BY A HARD SOIL CRUST. DURING HOT SUMMER MONTHS, MOUNDS MAY NOT BE MAINTAINED AND MAY BE SMALL, SCATTERED, AND EASILY OVERLOOKED. FIRE ANTS ALSO NEST IN EXTENDED, IRREGULAR, LOW LYING NESTS WITHIN LANDSCAPE MULCH, LAWNS, AND UNDER ITEMS LYING ON THE GROUND.
A POLYGENE FIRE ANT COLONY IS LESS HOSTILE TOWARD ITS NEIGHBORS, CAUSING EVEN MORE MOUNDS TO OCCUR PER ACRE. SINGLE QUEEN COLONIES AT 30 TO 100 MOUNDS PER ACRE HAVE BEEN FOUND WITH UP TO 250,000 INDIVIDUALS PER COLONY, BUT WITH MULTI-QUEENED COLONIES, 200 TO 700 MOUNDS PER ACRE MAY OCCUR.
FIRE ANTS ALSO CONSTRUCT SOIL TUBES UP THE FOUNDATION OF BUILDINGS TO ENTER THROUGH EXTERIOR CRACKS. THESE TUBES RESEMBLE THOSE OF TERMITES BUT ARE LOOSER IN CONSISTENCY AND ARE EASILY BROKEN APART TO EXPOSE ANTS INSIDE.
COLONY PROPAGATION. THE PRIMARY MEANS OF PROPAGATION IS BY MATING FLIGHTS. REPRODUCTIVE ALATES ARE PRODUCED AFTER THE COLONY REACHES ONE YEAR OF AGE, AND SIX TO EIGHT MATING FLIGHTS CONTAINING AS MANY AS 4,500 ALATES EACH OCCUR BETWEEN THE SPRING AND FALL. FLIGHTS USUALLY BEGIN AROUND 10:00 AM ONE OR TWO DAYS FOLLOWING A RAINFALL IF THAT DAY IS WARM (75 DEGREES F/24 DEGREES C) AND SUNNY. AS MANY AS 97,000 QUEENS ARE PRODUCED PER ACRE PER YEAR IN INFESTED LAND IN THE SOUTHERN UNITED STATES. THESE ALATES ARE OFTEN ATTRACTED TO SWIMMING POOLS, AND HOMEOWNERS OFTEN FIND THOUSANDS OF WINGED ANTS SWIMMING AND DROWNING IN THEIR POOLS.
FIRE ANTS HAVE BEEN FOUND IN THE LAS VEGAS VALLEY THIS YEAR (1999) AT A LOCAL NURSERY. THESE ANTS WERE FOUND IN A POTTED PALM TREE WHICH WAS SHIPPED FROM FLORIDA.
THE NURSERY OFFICIALS REPORTED THE POTENTIAL PROBLEM TO THE STATE AGRICULTURE DIVISION, WHICH CONFIRMED THAT THE ANTS WERE THE VARIETY THAT CAN BITE AND STING PEOPLE WITH AN IRRITATING AND, IN ISOLATED CASES, FATAL VENOM.
IN SEPTEMBER (1998), A LAS VEGAS VALLEY MAN WAS STUNG SERIOUSLY BY FIRE ANTS THAT WERE BROUGHT FROM ORANGE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. THAT CASE CONFIRMED FIRE ANTS HAD SPREAD TO CALIFORNIA FROM THE SOUTHEAST AND RESULTED IN A QUARANTINE ON 80 SQUARE MILES IN THREE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA COUNTIES, WHERE 19 NURSERIES HAVE BEEN INFESTED.
NEVADA AGRICULTURE DIVISION OFFICIALS ARE TRYING TO INCREASE LOCAL SURVEYS AND INSPECTIONS OF COMMERCIAL CARRIERS ENTERING SOUTHERN NEVADA TO PREVENT A POTENTIAL FIRE ANT PROBLEM THAT WOULD BE EXPENSIVE TO CONTROL FOR HOMEOWNERS AND GOVERNMENT AGENCIES.
THE DIVISION OF AGRICULTURE HAS FOUND FIRE ANTS AT SIX NURSERIES AND GREENHOUSES DURING SEVEN OF THE LAST NINE SURVEYS.
STATISTICS SHOW THAT ABOUT 2 PERCENT OF THE HUMAN POPULATION IS PRONE TO HAVING NEAR-DEATH REACTIONS TO FIRE ANT VENOM.
IT’S ABOUT 75 DEGREES, SUNNY AND THE GROUND IS DRY. SOUNDS LIKE A GOOD DAY FOR A PICNIC, DOESN’T IT? WELL, IF YOU THINK SO, CHANCES ARE THAT THE ANTS WILL TO.
THERE ARE 8,804 IDENTIFIED ANT SPECIES IN THE WORLD. OF THAT NUMBER, ONLY ABOUT 20 ARE CONSIDERED PESTS. THE EARLIEST ANTS ARE ABOUT 80 MILLION YEARS OLD, WHEREAS THE ANTS WE KNOW TODAY ARE PROBABLY ONLY ABOUT 65 MILLION YEARS OLD.
ANTS ARE AN ADVANCED SOCIAL INSECT, AND BECAUSE THEY ARE SO DIVERSE, THEY ARE ALSO ABUNDANT. IN AN ANT COLONY, THE QUEEN CONTROLS EVERYTHING AND MAINLY SETS THE PACE FOR POPULATION NUMBERS BY LAYING EGGS. IN A SINGLE QUEEN COLONY, FOR EXAMPLE, THE QUEEN CAN LAY HER WEIGHT IN EGGS IN 24 HOURS. IN MULTIPLE-QUEEN COLONIES, INDIVIDUAL PRODUCTION ISN’T THAT HIGH. AFTER THAT, WORKERS TAKE CARE OF EVERYTHING WITH A CLEARLY DEFINED DIVISION OF LABOR AMONG COLONY MEMBERS.
ANT COLONIES RANGE IN NUMBER FROM THE THOUSANDS TO THE MILLIONS, DEPENDING ON THE SPECIES. THE DEVELOPMENT CYCLE GOES FROM EGG TO LARVA TO PUPA AND THEN THE ADULT. THE WHOLE CYCLE TAKES ABOUT 25 TO 35 DAYS, DEPENDING ON THE SPECIES. A TYPICAL COLONY OF 250,000 TO 500,000 FIRE ANTS WOULD BE LARGE ENOUGH TO KILL A CALF OR A FAWN.
AFTER A COLONY REACHES A CERTAIN AGE (USUALLY ABOUT 18 MONTHS TO TWO YEARS), THE ANTS START PRODUCING REPRODUCTIVE MEMBERS. SOME HAVE MATING FLIGHTS, WHILE OTHERS MATE IN THE NEST. EITHER WAY, WINGED REPRODUCTIVES ARE FORMED. LIKE MOST SOCIAL INSECTS, MALES ARE ONLY USED FOR REPRODUCTION AND THEN THEY DIE.
ANT COLONIES KEEP ORGANIZED THROUGH THE USE OF PHEROMONES FOR COMMUNICATION, STRICT DIVISION OF LABOR AND FOOD DISTRIBUTION.
MOST OF THEIR COMMUNICATION IS THROUGH PHEROMONES. THIS TELLS THE WORKERS WHO THE QUEEN IS AND THAT SHE MUST BE PROTECTED AT ALL COSTS. WORKERS LEAVE PHEROMONE TRAILS TO LEAD OTHER COLONY MEMBERS TO FOOD SOURCES.
DIVISION OF LABOR IS ANOTHER WAY THAT COLONY ORGANIZATION IS MAINTAINED. IN A FIRE ANT COLONY, LARGE WORKERS ARE USED FOR MOVING LARGE PARTICLES, AND SOMETIMES THEIR ABDOMENS ARE USED FOR FOOD STORAGE. CONTRARY TO WHAT IS SOMETIMES THOUGHT, LARGE WORKERS ARE NOT USED FOR DEFENDING THE NEST.
IN ADDITION TO SIZE, AGE ALSO PLAYS A ROLE IN DETERMINING ANT WORK ASSIGNMENTS. AS WORKERS GET OLDER, THEY USUALLY BECOME FORAGERS AND MOVE AWAY FROM THE NEST.
THE THIRD IMPORTANT ASPECT OF AN ANT COLONY IS FOOD DISTRIBUTION. FORAGERS FIND FOOD OUTSIDE THE NEST AND FEED IT TO OTHER MEMBERS BY WAY OF TROPHALLAXIS (EXCHANGE OF FOOD FROM THEIR INTERNAL GLANDS). THEY BRING IT BACK TO THE NEST AND GIVE IT TO RESERVES, WHICH EITHER STORE IT OR PASS IT ALONG TO THE NURSE ANTS. NURSES WHICH ARE THE YOUNGEST WORKERS, FEED THE QUEEN AND THE BROOD. ADULT WORKER ANTS INGEST LIQUID NUTRIENTS ONLY.
IDENTIFYING CHARACTERISTICS. THIS ANT HAS TWO SEGMENTS (NODES) IN THE PEDICEL. WORKERS ARE POLYMORPHIC (VARY IN SIZE), APPROXIMATELY 1/8 TO ¼ INCH 3 TO 6 MM LONG. ANTENNA ARE 10-SEGMENTED, ENDING IN A TWO-SEGMENTED CLUB. THE MANDIBLE HAS FOUR DISTINCT TEETH AND A STING IS PROMINENT AT THE ABDOMEN'S TIP. BODY COLOR IS VARIABLE, USUALLY REDDISH WITH A BLACK GASTER (STOMACH OR ABDOMEN).
QUEENS. THE FIRE ANT QUEEN APPROACHES ½ INCH/13 MM IN SIZE AND IS DARK REDDISH-BROWN IN COLOR. IT HAS THE 10-SEGMENTED ANTENNA ENDING IN A TWO-SEGMENTED CLUB THAT IS CHARACTERISTIC OF THE GENUS.
DISTRIBUTION. THE RED IMPORTED FIRE ANT APPARENTLY WAS INTRODUCED INTO MOBILE , ALABAMA, OR PENSACOLA, FLORIDA, AREA FROM CENTRAL BRAZIL BETWEEN 1933 AND 1945. THE BLACK IMPORTED FIRE ANT WAS APPARENTLY INTRODUCED BEFORE THE RED SPECIES AROUND 1918 IN THE MOBILE AREA. THE BLACK VARIETY IS CONFINED TO A MUCH SMALLER RANGE AND NOW INHABITS NORTHEASTERN MISSISSIPPI, NORTHWESTERN ALABAMA, AND A SMALL AREA IN SOUTHWESTERN TENNESSEE.
BIOLOGY AND HABITS. A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF RESEARCH ON THE BIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY OF THIS IMPORTANT PEST HAS BEEN PERFORMED AND ACCUMULATED. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ANT FROM A HUMAN HEALTH PERSPECTIVE DUE TO ITS PROPENSITY FOR STINGING AND ITS ABUNDANCE IN INFESTED REGIONS. EIGHTY-THREE DEATHS HAVE BEEN REPORTED BY 1989 DUE TO FIRE ANT STINGS.
THE IMPORTED FIRE ANT ALSO NEGATIVELY IMPACTS THE NATIVE FAUNA (OTHER INSECTS) WHEREVER IT BECOMES FIRMLY ESTABLISHED. ONE STUDY IN TEXAS (1990) SHOWED THAT POLYGENE FIRE ANT COLONIES DECIMATED THE INDIGENOUS ANT FAUNA.: SPECIES RICHNESS OF ANTS IN INFESTED AREAS DROPPED BY 70%, WHILE THE TOTAL NUMBER OF NATIVE INDIVIDUALS DROPPED BY 90%. OF 35 SPECIES OF ANTS COLLECTED IN THIS STUDY, 23 WERE EITHER SIGNIFICANTLY LESS COMMON OR ABSENT FROM INFESTED SITES.”
FIRE ANTS COMMONLY NEST NEXT TO AND INSIDE ELECTRIC APPLIANCES, SUCH AS AIR CONDITIONERS, HEAT PUMPS, AND TRAFFIC CONTROL BOXES, OFTEN DISRUPTING SERVICE OR DAMAGING THIS EQUIPMENT. THESE ANTS ARE ATTRACTED TO BOTH AC AND DC CURRENTS EQUALLY AT THE SAME VOLTAGE AND WILL ACTUALLY SHORT-CIRCUIT OR DAMAGE ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT BY SWARMING OVER RELAY SWITCHES.
IMPORTED FIRE ANTS ALSO CAUSE DAMAGE TO HIGHWAYS, ROADWAYS, AND AIRPORT RUNWAYS. POTHOLES MEASURING UP TO 1.4 M IN LENGTH AND 15 CM DEEP CAUSED BY FIRE ANTS ARE COMMON IN NORTH CAROLINA AND FLORIDA HIGHWAYS.
FIRE ANTS ARE VORACIOUS FORAGERS AND WILL EXPLOIT MOST ANY FOOD SOURCE, PARTICULARLY SLOW-MOVING ARTHROPODS THAT CANNOT ESCAPE THEM. THEY ARE CONSIDERED BENEFICIAL IN THAT THEY PREY UPON MANY PLANT PESTS AND EVEN FLEA LARVAE IN HOMES. THIS ANT IS ATTRACTED TO OILS, AND THIS FACT IS USED WITH SUCCESS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF FIRE ANT BAITS.
MULTIPLE QUEEN COLONIES. PRIOR TO THE EARLY 1970s, FIRE ANT MOUNDS WERE FOUND TO CONTAIN ONLY ONE QUEEN (MONOGYNE); HOWEVER, MULTIPLE QUEEN (POLYGYNE) MOUNDS WERE DISCOVERED AND THEIR PREVALENCE HAS INCREASED SINCE. ONE COLONY IN MISSISSIPPI WAS DUBBED “QUEEN CITY” BECAUSE IT CONTAINED MORE THAN 3000 FIRE ANT QUEENS. POLYGNE COLONIES DIFFER FROM MONOGYNE COLONIES IN THE FOLLOWING WAYS: (1) THE MOUNDS ARE MORE NUMEROUS AND SPACED MORE CLOSELY TOGETHER; (2) THEIR WORKERS ARE MUCH SMALLER WITH VERY FEW LARGE WORKERS PRESENT; (3) THE WORKERS ARE LESS AGGRESSIVE TOWARD NEIGHBORING COLONIES; AND (4) THE QUEENS LAY FEWER EGGS AND WEIGH LESS. DUE TO THE NUMBER OF QUEENS, HOWEVER, THE TOTAL NUMBER OF EGGS PRODUCED IS FAR GREATER IN A MULTIPLE QUEEN COLONY.
LIFE HISTORY. THE LIFESPAN OF WORKERS DEPENDS UPON THEIR SIZE, WITH MINOR WORKERS LIVING 30 TO 60 DAYS, MEDIAS 60 TO 90 DAYS, MAJORS 90 TO 180 DAYS, AND QUEENS TWO TO SIX YEARS. LIFE CYCLE FROM EGG TO ADULT, IS COMPLETED IN 22 TO 38 DAYS.
NESTING HABITS. THE RED IMPORTED FIRE ANT BUILDS MOUNDS IN ALL TYPES OF SOIL EXCEPT SWAMPLAND AND DENSE FOREST. THE TYPICAL MOUND IS A CONICAL-SHAPED SOIL DOME THAT MEASURES 1 TO 2 FEET/30 TO 60 CM IN DIAMETER AND I.5 FEET/45 CM IN HEIGHT. IN LOW MARSHY TERRAIN, MOUNDS MAY BE 3 TO 3.5/90 TO 105 CM FEET IN DIAMETER AND UP TO 3FEET/90 CM HIGH. THE MOUNDS SURFACE WILL BE COVERED BY A HARD SOIL CRUST. DURING HOT SUMMER MONTHS, MOUNDS MAY NOT BE MAINTAINED AND MAY BE SMALL, SCATTERED, AND EASILY OVERLOOKED. FIRE ANTS ALSO NEST IN EXTENDED, IRREGULAR, LOW LYING NESTS WITHIN LANDSCAPE MULCH, LAWNS, AND UNDER ITEMS LYING ON THE GROUND.
A POLYGENE FIRE ANT COLONY IS LESS HOSTILE TOWARD ITS NEIGHBORS, CAUSING EVEN MORE MOUNDS TO OCCUR PER ACRE. SINGLE QUEEN COLONIES AT 30 TO 100 MOUNDS PER ACRE HAVE BEEN FOUND WITH UP TO 250,000 INDIVIDUALS PER COLONY, BUT WITH MULTI-QUEENED COLONIES, 200 TO 700 MOUNDS PER ACRE MAY OCCUR.
FIRE ANTS ALSO CONSTRUCT SOIL TUBES UP THE FOUNDATION OF BUILDINGS TO ENTER THROUGH EXTERIOR CRACKS. THESE TUBES RESEMBLE THOSE OF TERMITES BUT ARE LOOSER IN CONSISTENCY AND ARE EASILY BROKEN APART TO EXPOSE ANTS INSIDE.
COLONY PROPAGATION. THE PRIMARY MEANS OF PROPAGATION IS BY MATING FLIGHTS. REPRODUCTIVE ALATES ARE PRODUCED AFTER THE COLONY REACHES ONE YEAR OF AGE, AND SIX TO EIGHT MATING FLIGHTS CONTAINING AS MANY AS 4,500 ALATES EACH OCCUR BETWEEN THE SPRING AND FALL. FLIGHTS USUALLY BEGIN AROUND 10:00 AM ONE OR TWO DAYS FOLLOWING A RAINFALL IF THAT DAY IS WARM (75 DEGREES F/24 DEGREES C) AND SUNNY. AS MANY AS 97,000 QUEENS ARE PRODUCED PER ACRE PER YEAR IN INFESTED LAND IN THE SOUTHERN UNITED STATES. THESE ALATES ARE OFTEN ATTRACTED TO SWIMMING POOLS, AND HOMEOWNERS OFTEN FIND THOUSANDS OF WINGED ANTS SWIMMING AND DROWNING IN THEIR POOLS.
FIRE ANTS HAVE BEEN FOUND IN THE LAS VEGAS VALLEY THIS YEAR (1999) AT A LOCAL NURSERY. THESE ANTS WERE FOUND IN A POTTED PALM TREE WHICH WAS SHIPPED FROM FLORIDA.
THE NURSERY OFFICIALS REPORTED THE POTENTIAL PROBLEM TO THE STATE AGRICULTURE DIVISION, WHICH CONFIRMED THAT THE ANTS WERE THE VARIETY THAT CAN BITE AND STING PEOPLE WITH AN IRRITATING AND, IN ISOLATED CASES, FATAL VENOM.
IN SEPTEMBER (1998), A LAS VEGAS VALLEY MAN WAS STUNG SERIOUSLY BY FIRE ANTS THAT WERE BROUGHT FROM ORANGE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. THAT CASE CONFIRMED FIRE ANTS HAD SPREAD TO CALIFORNIA FROM THE SOUTHEAST AND RESULTED IN A QUARANTINE ON 80 SQUARE MILES IN THREE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA COUNTIES, WHERE 19 NURSERIES HAVE BEEN INFESTED.
NEVADA AGRICULTURE DIVISION OFFICIALS ARE TRYING TO INCREASE LOCAL SURVEYS AND INSPECTIONS OF COMMERCIAL CARRIERS ENTERING SOUTHERN NEVADA TO PREVENT A POTENTIAL FIRE ANT PROBLEM THAT WOULD BE EXPENSIVE TO CONTROL FOR HOMEOWNERS AND GOVERNMENT AGENCIES.
THE DIVISION OF AGRICULTURE HAS FOUND FIRE ANTS AT SIX NURSERIES AND GREENHOUSES DURING SEVEN OF THE LAST NINE SURVEYS.
STATISTICS SHOW THAT ABOUT 2 PERCENT OF THE HUMAN POPULATION IS PRONE TO HAVING NEAR-DEATH REACTIONS TO FIRE ANT VENOM.