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Red Imported Fire Ant

Scientific Name

Solenopsis invicta Buren, 1972 (ITIS)

Common Name

Red imported fire ant (RIFA)

Synonym

Solenopsis wagneri Santschi (ITIS)

Native To

South America (Jemal and Hugh-Jones 1993)

Date of U.S. Introduction

Probably between 1933 and 1945 (Jemal and Hugh-Jones 1993)

Means of Introduction

Possibly introduced in ships' ballast (Fitzpatrick et al. 2007)

Impact

Can attack and cause painful stings on humans, pets, and livestock (Jemal and Hugh-Jones 1993)

Red Imported Fire Ant

Red Imported Fire Ant, Adult USDA, APHIS, Plant Protection and Quarantine Archives.

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Spotlights

Distribution / Maps / Survey Status

Federally Regulated

Videos

Selected Resources

The section below contains highly relevant resources for this species, organized by source.

Council or Task Force
Partnership
Federal Government
International Government
State and Local Government
Academic
Citations