Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar
Upcoming Events

See Moth submissions from National Moth Week 2023

Photos of insects and people from the 2022 BugGuide gathering in New Mexico, July 20-24

Photos of insects and people from the Spring 2021 gathering in Louisiana, April 28-May 2

Photos of insects and people from the 2019 gathering in Louisiana, July 25-27

Photos of insects and people from the 2018 gathering in Virginia, July 27-29

Photos of insects and people from the 2015 gathering in Wisconsin, July 10-12


Previous events


TaxonomyBrowse
Info
ImagesLinksBooksData

Fire Ants

Red Imported Fire Ant - Solenopsis invicta Trail-building formicidae; a few would guard the sides of the ground-sunken trail, like these - Solenopsis Solenopsis richteri  - Solenopsis richteri Ant of sorts.... - Solenopsis xyloni Solenopsis xyloni? - Solenopsis xyloni Nuptial Flight - Solenopsis invicta - female Tetramorium bicarinatum queens? - Solenopsis invicta - female ? - Solenopsis invicta
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies)
No Taxon (Aculeata - Ants, Bees and Stinging Wasps)
Superfamily Formicoidea (Ants)
Family Formicidae (Ants)
Subfamily Myrmicinae
Tribe Solenopsidini
Genus Solenopsis (Fire Ants and Thief Ants)
No Taxon Fire Ants
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Subgenus (Solenopsis), not currently recognized as a valid taxon
Explanation of Names
Fire ants are named for their painful stings.
Size
Workers 2.5-4.5mm -- Mature colonies contain all or most of this size range.
Identification
Like all Solenopsis, these have ten-segmented antennae with a two-segmented club. Fire ants are recognized by their relatively large size (>2.5mm), polymorphic worker caste, and flagellar segments longer than broad. They are also noteworthy for their painful stings.
Other species groups in this genus are tiny (<2 mm), with monomorphic workers, and with short flagellomeres that appear disc-like.
Range
Warm-temperate and subtropical USA (the "Sunbelt" states), and southward.
Habitat
Disturbed, open areas, such as pastures, edges of crop fields, lawns, gardens, floodplains, frequently burned grasslands and pinelands. Nest are in soil, and in cooler or wetter weather, often with a conspicuous tumulus or mound.
Remarks
Sometimes called subgenus (Solenopsis), but the monophyly of this group is uncertain, as is that of all Solenopsis subgenera. Hence, none of the latter are currently recognized as valid, but anyone familiar with these ants can easily recognize fire ants from others in the genus.