Imported Fire Ant,Solenopsis saevissima richteri Forel.

The "imported" fire ant is so named to distinguish it from other fire ants that are native to this country. Infestations of the imported fire ant have been found in several east and southeast counties in Texas.

The reddish to blackish red worker ant, which is one of three adult forms of this insect, is the most numerous. One mound or den may contain 25,000 workers. The worker ant is from l/8 to l/4 inch long. It forages on various pasture and cultivated plants.

Mounds of this ant are most common in open areas in cultivated fields and pastures. The mounds, averaging 15 inches in diameter and 10 inches in height, often are obstacles to blades of machines in the process of harvesting a crop grown in ant-infested areas. The ant has a painful sting and often attacks young unprotected animals, such as newborn calves and pigs and newly hatched quail and poultry.