It is common to see dead insects, rodents, and even large animal carcasses covered in ants. Plant matter, carrion, and even living animals are all food sources for the colony. This species of ant eats anything and everything. Fleeing from the ant nest area as quickly as possible, despite the painful biting and stinging, minimizes the number of ants that attack. Any object that disturbs the mound causes a frenzy of biting and stinging ants to crawl straight up the object, be it a foot, paw, pencil, or wooden stake. People and children living in areas where RIFA exist should avoid compressing mounded soil with their feet in order push it back into the lawn. Unlike other ants, RIFA mounds do not have a central opening hole, so they are less likely to be quickly identified as an ant colony. (Floods and heavy rains often bring out the ants, and clusters of them form ?rafts? that can float on water until solid ground is reached.) Large and small individual ants from the colony may be active on and around the mound, but many people and pets unwittingly step on mounds that do not have obvious signs of life. RIFA prefer moist areas, so colonies are often found near water sources. These more visible mounds can be anywhere from 7 cm to 1 m (3 inches to 3 feet) tall and are usually under 45 cm (18 inches) in diameter. Many colonies are hidden under logs or debris, but in open areas that lack cover like farms, campgrounds, and playgrounds, soft, earthy mounds are created in plain sight. Sometimes workers may be seen in trees, but nests are not established there. A Red Imported Fire Ant colony is built in the ground. The queen and workers have a coppery red head and thorax, but a black rear end (abdomen). Red Imported Fire Ants come in various sizes, unlike many other types of ants with uniform size. Itching and possible infection at the sites may develop after the pustules diminish. Sting sites develop into white, pimple-like pustules that do eventually heal. A severe, lethal, allergic reaction to the ant?s venom is a concern for a small number of victims, but RIFA stings rarely cause death according to the National Institute of Health (American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology: June 1998). The stinger at the tip of the abdomen injects a chemical that produces a sensation akin to being burned by fire.
Originally from South America, this species is known for its intensely aggressive defense of its colony by immediately swarming a threat en masse, holding on to it by biting it, and then stinging it. after the Great Depression, the Red Imported Fire Ant (RIFA) is now established in southern U.S.
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