Black Imported Fire Ant – Solenopsis richteri

Black Imported Fire Ant   Scientific Name:  Solenopsis richteri Common Name:  Black imported fire ants Appearance:  Black imported fire ants are a species of highly stinging ants that cause the formation of pustules upon stinging. The rostral end of the body is red in colour, and the entire body has a slight concavity on the lateral margins. It also has ten segmented antennae on its head. Host Plants or Food: Black imported fire ants mainly damage crops such as soybean, eggplants, corn, and potatoes. Territory: Throughout North America and South America Mode of Damage:  They are usually stem and twig damagers, and chew in the bark of several crops, thus rendering them useless. Some adult ants may also be fruit feeders. Habits and Life History: Black imported fire ants construct a conical mound of sand on the ground where they live. The mound has a hard crust on the exterior, saving it from rain. The worker ants are sterile female ants that protect and feed the queen ants and the broods. The queen ant mates with the males and lays eggs which later on hatch to produce a larva. A single mature queen ant can lay up to 800 eggs a day. A typical colony consists of 100,000 to 500,000 workers and a few hundred queens and winged ants. Queen ants live up to 7 years while workers die off in a few weeks.