Latest Fire ant Stories

New research from the University of Florida has found that red fire ant invasions around the world in recent years can now be traced to the southern United States, where the insect gained a troublesome foothold in the 1930s. Native to South America, the ant has been believed to be contained there and in the southeastern US, before turning up in far off place over the past two decades. Genetic tests on ants in California, China, Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand has traced them back to...

San Antonio is trying to deal with a tiny invader that can cause big problems, the crazy ant. A few colonies of crazy ants have been found in one section of the city, the San Antonio Express News reports. They probably arrived from Houston, where they have been established for about 10 years, possibly brought in on plants. Unlike fire ants, crazy ants do not bite or sting, experts say. What they do is multiply to the point where their colonies have millions or billions of ants. They...

SAVANNAH, Ga., July 1 /PRNewswire/ -- For some 60 years, fire ants have expanded relentlessly throughout the southern and southwestern United States. They sting relentlessly, too: first biting the victim's skin with their mandibles (mouth parts), then holding on tight and sting from their bottoms. They then often pivot around and continue to sting in circles, causing burning pain and excruciating itch to their victims, many of whom are children. Fire ant venom includes a potent alkaloid...

Four species of tiny flies that lay eggs in fire ants have been imported into Texas in an effort to reduce the numbers of the stinging invaders. The phorid flies effectively turn fire ants into zombies, the Fort Worth (Texas) Star-Telegram reported Tuesday. The egg that hatches in a fire ant produces a maggot that eats the ant's brain, researchers at Texas A&M and the University of Texas say. It's a tool -- they're not going to completely wipe out the fire ant, but it's a way to control...

Penn State Assistant Professor of Biology Tracy Langkilde has shown that native fence lizards in the southeastern United States are adapting to potentially fatal invasive fire-ant attacks by developing behaviors that enable them to escape from the ants, as well as by developing longer hind legs, which can increase the effectiveness of this behavior. "Not only does this finding provide biologists with an example of evolution in action, but it also provides wildlife managers with knowledge...

A new report found young kids who have major allergic reactions to fire ant stings can be desensitized in a one-day "rush" protocol.There's a risk of repeated stings in regions where imported fire ants are endemic, according to Dr. Michael S. Tankersley who said the one-day protocol, "which can safely reach a protective dose of immunotherapy in a short amount of time, would be a therapeutic option for any-age patient with imported fire ant allergy."Tankersley, from...

By John Hopkins, The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk, Va. Aug. 5--Leo Lestino took a closer look at the ground Monday as he sat at a picnic table at City View Park in Virginia Beach. There are posted signs warning about fire ants, but Lestino hadn't noticed them until Monday. Then the 25-year-old Regent University student thought about the teeming playgrounds nearby. "There are a lot of kids out here playing around," he said. "Everybody brings their kids here. I think they're oblivious to the...

By The Associated Press EDINBURG, Texas (AP) - South Texans eager to salvage what they can from waterlogged homes struck by Hurricane Dolly have another problem: The floodwaters they're slogging through are laced with stinging fire ants, snakes and tarantulas."You don't want to wade in this water," state Health Services Commissioner David Lakey said during a visit to the Rio Grande Valley on Friday. "You don't want to play in this water. You want to stay out of this water."It was timely...

You won't be able to hear them. Don't even try. But somewhere out there, maybe as near as your backyard, the crazy Rasberry ants are marching. Hundreds, thousands, millions, billions of them are coming in a near-unstoppable zig-zagging insect army intent on making your home, yard and life a living hill. First spotted in 2002 in Pasadena by Tom Rasberry, the exterminator for whom the rice-grain-sized insects are named, the ants now have spread through much of the greater Houston area....

New study shows the age of victims determines how fire ants respond to aggressorsPretending to be dead is an effective self-defense strategy adopted by young fire ant workers under attack from neighboring colonies. This tactic makes them four times more likely to survive aggression than older workers who fight back. As a result, these young workers are able to contribute to brood care and colony growth to ensure the survival and fitness of their queen. These findings by Dr. Deby Cassill from...