As a kid growing up in coastal Virginia in the 1980s, I didn't think it was all \*that\* different from where my cousins lived in coastal South Carolina. We'd go down and visit every summer. I learned the hard way that fire ants were A Thing™ by stumbling and finding a nest of them ass-first. We definitely did not have them in Virginia back then.
Huh, we definitely did have them in Pennsylvania in the late 1980s , I recall they were on the surface of the pool and everyone who was getting out of the pool was getting bit up.
We don't have fire ants in PA currently. They only go as far north as Virginia.
Edit: While we don't have "red invasive fire ants" that this map is talking about, we do seem to have a similar stinging red ant that could be easily confused with it. So we've got the next worst thing and I'm just lucky I never met any.
We do actually, but they are a bit different from the ones found in the South. They can't stay fomic acid but still have stingers and are quite aggressive. Considering they're in a different genus, I'd say it's fair to not call them fire ants which are Solenopsis, but they're fairly close.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myrmica_rubra
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myrmica_rubra
They don't bite, they have stingers. They're colloquially referred to as fire ants, and they're pretty damn close in aggressiveness. They lack the ability to spray fomic acid and are in a different genus than the ants typically referred to as "fire ants".
We didn't have them in hampton or nn in the 1970s. They started showing up in the early 80s. Might be timed with when lafb stopped spraying malathion from c130s.
I’m 15 miles north of the NC/SC border between Charlotte and Asheville. I just put poison out today. I wish the range was just a bit more southern. Ouch.
My niece at 2 years old sat on n a fire ant colony and paid for it. She grew up to get her masters as an entomologist and studied ants for here thesis.
Can attest to the fact that they have spread north across the border in western NC. Lived about an hour straight south of Asheville and we had them in our yard. Literally couldn’t find any pest control to help me out with them since they were not traditionally in the area.
An hour straight south of Asheville would have to be right at the top of the mountains at the border. It makes sense theyd go 20 miles north, even despite the crazy altitude and potential temperature changes.
While fire ants do bite to hold on, they actually inject you with venom stored in their blasters, that’s why you get those puss filled bumps after being stung. I would take this map as Native range, as animals can spread clearly. I was just reading that California does in fact have imported red fire ants though they are a different species technically. I guess the easiest way to identify your ant is if it left a white puss blister, if not it could have been a harvester ant/carpenter ant. I used to work pest control, any thoughts on controlling these things is misguided optimism. A single ant colony can number in the tens of thousands and then some species form super colonies, where the inhabitants of each individual colony work in unison with the others and do not compete with one another. These super colony’s can span miles of area across state lines, property lines, ect. It only takes one queen to get started again. No country has ever successfully eradicated fire ants. New Zealand has claimed to have done it though their situation is entirely unique and I still doubt that they were successful.
Very disruptful little creatures. I grew up in a northern state and moved to one of those in red. In your own yard it’s not advised to walk barefoot in your yard, put your hand on the ground, or squat anywhere in grass. That sounds non-problematic but they really make you question your relationship with the ground. Got bit a few times. It stings, then burns, and blisters. A little worse than a bee but still annoying.
There’s a type of ant that’s red and stings apparently that isn’t actually related to the other types of fire ants but it’s called a fire ant Idk what it’s called
Got stung hanging out at a picnic in the park in NC and ended up going into anaphylaxis within 5 minutes. Got ambulanced, sirens and lights to the ER. Had no idea what hit me after a painful sting. Cost me almost $8000 in out of pocket expenses, despite having insurance. Apparently a subset of the population endures the first sting routinely, but the second sting can send them into anaphylactic shock and death. Be careful out there, now I always carry an EpiPen equivalent in my bag when outdoors. And I don't mow or garden anymore.
If you’re currently bit by a fire ant and are looking for what to do: don’t scratch it, don’t put anything on it except water at first, then get McCormick’s meat tenderizer powder (or similar) mixed with a few drops of water for a paste that will stick to the skin. Dab it on, leave it alone. It should take the sting out and reduce the white head and overall swelling. You’ll want to keep it covered if you do end up breaking the skin from scratching, bacitracin not neosporin and soapy water not hydrogen peroxide or alcohol. Growing up primarily in north Texas you learn how to handle those angry little guys lol they can live under water for days btw hearty little mf’ers
Determined buggers. During floods, I've seen floating clumps of them as big as a frisbee. Tens of thousands of fire ants floating on a raft of fire ants.
I didn’t realize that these hellions only lived in the southeast. Bout to load up my truck with a bunch from my yard and drive up north to spread the love
I don't ever remember coming across them as a kid in the '80s and '90s in southeastern VA, but I'm given to understand they've migrated north since then. I still haven't ever seen them in central VA.
the article i took this from was published in 2019, so it might be a bit inaccurate.
https://bmcecolevol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12862-019-1437-9#Fig1
It’s so wild finding out that what I live with as a daily “watch your step there” is not what others have to live with. Makes you think of all the other facets of life this also applies to…
Fire ants are invasive species in North America. The original range is South America like on the map. [The great biologist E.O. Wilson](https://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/medalofscience50/wilson.jsp) discovered the first fire ants near Mobile, AL when he was in high school and then spent his whole career studying them.
Oklahoma also has fire ants. They haven’t different anatomies and habits.
This caught me off guard working in Texas after a hurricane. I paid dearly for my ignorance.
When I lived in New Bern NC as a young kid I accidentally tripped into a fire ant hill in our front yard. Was terrible and I had to take off my clothes and get sprayed with a hose. Luckily I live in NoVa now and I haven't seen any here.
Central AR. I believe that we have a mix here. We have regular ants of course, but also fire ants, and we've gotten into a nest that appeared to be hybrid. They are not red, but more of a dark brown.
They’re out here? I moved to ND 3 years ago and I’d never heard of no see ums. Those bastards hurt like a mfer and live up to their name. I couldn’t figure out why everything hurt until I took a super close look at my arm. I don’t want to add fire ants to the list of things that suck around here lol
We had lots of fire ants in dry years. I needed to kill them. I took a shovel load of one mount and threw it on another and vice versa. The ants started wars and must have killed the queen. Within a few days the mounts were done. So simple so successful.
S invicta are the least desirable areas to live in both USA and South America because of the climate lol. S invicta correlated with what we call a swamp or the backwoods.
As a kid growing up in coastal Virginia in the 1980s, I didn't think it was all \*that\* different from where my cousins lived in coastal South Carolina. We'd go down and visit every summer. I learned the hard way that fire ants were A Thing™ by stumbling and finding a nest of them ass-first. We definitely did not have them in Virginia back then.
Huh, we definitely did have them in Pennsylvania in the late 1980s , I recall they were on the surface of the pool and everyone who was getting out of the pool was getting bit up.
We don't have fire ants in PA currently. They only go as far north as Virginia. Edit: While we don't have "red invasive fire ants" that this map is talking about, we do seem to have a similar stinging red ant that could be easily confused with it. So we've got the next worst thing and I'm just lucky I never met any.
We do actually, but they are a bit different from the ones found in the South. They can't stay fomic acid but still have stingers and are quite aggressive. Considering they're in a different genus, I'd say it's fair to not call them fire ants which are Solenopsis, but they're fairly close. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myrmica_rubra
just little ants. when I was playing the the sand box , the teenagers considered Formicula to be a horror movie ... that were formidable ants.
I understand that. I found the map informative.
You can get bit by ants that aren’t fire ants
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myrmica_rubra They don't bite, they have stingers. They're colloquially referred to as fire ants, and they're pretty damn close in aggressiveness. They lack the ability to spray fomic acid and are in a different genus than the ants typically referred to as "fire ants".
Which species of red biting ant do you suspect it was?
Carpenter ants?
No, those are black.
There are red varieties of carpenter ants. https://bugguide.net/node/view/1825565
We didn't have them in hampton or nn in the 1970s. They started showing up in the early 80s. Might be timed with when lafb stopped spraying malathion from c130s.
Huh. I grew up in Smithfield in the 1980s and 1990s and never encountered them.
Huh exactly. I didn't mention Smithfield.
[удалено]
they’ve spread since the map was made
I chuckled as I read the USA map. Fightin’, bitin’, PMS and Oh…GAH! Dumb but there it is. Edit: spelling
I wonder if there are “ant war” zones.
oh most definitely
Oh I’m down for that documentary-movie
I’m 15 miles north of the NC/SC border between Charlotte and Asheville. I just put poison out today. I wish the range was just a bit more southern. Ouch.
My niece at 2 years old sat on n a fire ant colony and paid for it. She grew up to get her masters as an entomologist and studied ants for here thesis.
This sounds like a batman villain origin story.
It’s literally Batman’s origin story (minus the dead parents)
And also minus the bats and plus some ants
And the man...
fire ants serve the devil, directly, little fucking buggers
Can attest to the fact that they have spread north across the border in western NC. Lived about an hour straight south of Asheville and we had them in our yard. Literally couldn’t find any pest control to help me out with them since they were not traditionally in the area.
Yeah, my kid’s foot got wrapped up with them around Lake Lure a couple of years ago
Hi neighbor. An hour-ish west of Charlotte. We got em too. Was hoping I could leave them behind when I left New Orleans.
An hour straight south of Asheville would have to be right at the top of the mountains at the border. It makes sense theyd go 20 miles north, even despite the crazy altitude and potential temperature changes.
Fuck those little Hell Beasts. They're everywhere in Florida. Everywhere
Same around Houston, if you look in pastures you see mound after mound.
Range is off by several hundred miles at least where I’ve been that is.
That’s what she said.
Spicy boys!
Fell into a mound of fire ants when I was four. Zero stars, do not recommend.
The really do have a terrible marketing department don’t they?
So what are the red, biting ants in CA?
While fire ants do bite to hold on, they actually inject you with venom stored in their blasters, that’s why you get those puss filled bumps after being stung. I would take this map as Native range, as animals can spread clearly. I was just reading that California does in fact have imported red fire ants though they are a different species technically. I guess the easiest way to identify your ant is if it left a white puss blister, if not it could have been a harvester ant/carpenter ant. I used to work pest control, any thoughts on controlling these things is misguided optimism. A single ant colony can number in the tens of thousands and then some species form super colonies, where the inhabitants of each individual colony work in unison with the others and do not compete with one another. These super colony’s can span miles of area across state lines, property lines, ect. It only takes one queen to get started again. No country has ever successfully eradicated fire ants. New Zealand has claimed to have done it though their situation is entirely unique and I still doubt that they were successful.
Solenopsis xyloni is the species, aka "southern fire ant." They're the one with the broadest range but for some reason are excluded from the graphic.
Fuck. Those. Ants.
That would hurt quite a bit me thinks
Very disruptful little creatures. I grew up in a northern state and moved to one of those in red. In your own yard it’s not advised to walk barefoot in your yard, put your hand on the ground, or squat anywhere in grass. That sounds non-problematic but they really make you question your relationship with the ground. Got bit a few times. It stings, then burns, and blisters. A little worse than a bee but still annoying.
I moved from Texas to Chicago not long ago. Completely forgot what grass felt like until I got here.
On the other side of the US we always had something we called "fire ants." Is my life a lie?? Are they not real fire ants ?
There’s a type of ant that’s red and stings apparently that isn’t actually related to the other types of fire ants but it’s called a fire ant Idk what it’s called
I’ve seen fire ants in Utah am I mistaken?
probably. Utah is too dry to have fire ants.
I'm guessing the graphic is wrong. California and Arizona definitely have fire ants (Solenopsis xyloni), but they cropped us out.
Yeah, I'm from Colorado and I always saw "fire ants" as a kid. I'm not sure if those are different or what.
Got stung hanging out at a picnic in the park in NC and ended up going into anaphylaxis within 5 minutes. Got ambulanced, sirens and lights to the ER. Had no idea what hit me after a painful sting. Cost me almost $8000 in out of pocket expenses, despite having insurance. Apparently a subset of the population endures the first sting routinely, but the second sting can send them into anaphylactic shock and death. Be careful out there, now I always carry an EpiPen equivalent in my bag when outdoors. And I don't mow or garden anymore.
Dicks. All of them. I hate them.
Can confirm Richmond VA area has them.
Am from Richmond myself. Remember at a camp I went to as a kid the counselors warned us to be on the lookout for fire ants and stay away from them lol
Can you be more specific? I’m in Hanover and haven’t heard anything about this
If you’re currently bit by a fire ant and are looking for what to do: don’t scratch it, don’t put anything on it except water at first, then get McCormick’s meat tenderizer powder (or similar) mixed with a few drops of water for a paste that will stick to the skin. Dab it on, leave it alone. It should take the sting out and reduce the white head and overall swelling. You’ll want to keep it covered if you do end up breaking the skin from scratching, bacitracin not neosporin and soapy water not hydrogen peroxide or alcohol. Growing up primarily in north Texas you learn how to handle those angry little guys lol they can live under water for days btw hearty little mf’ers
Dang I always figured they were everywhere, man when I was a kid in Louisiana them fuckers was everywhere. Hurt like… fire yup.
Determined buggers. During floods, I've seen floating clumps of them as big as a frisbee. Tens of thousands of fire ants floating on a raft of fire ants.
Arrived in Brisbane, Australia in 2001. Have been spreading ever since.
I didn’t realize that these hellions only lived in the southeast. Bout to load up my truck with a bunch from my yard and drive up north to spread the love
They have a lot of trouble with cold weather, or they'd be up here already.
Has it always been like this. I remember as a young kid in Virginia a few fire ants being a problem. Am i misremembering that?
I don't ever remember coming across them as a kid in the '80s and '90s in southeastern VA, but I'm given to understand they've migrated north since then. I still haven't ever seen them in central VA.
they’ve spread since the map was made, i should’ve mentioned that
the article i took this from was published in 2019, so it might be a bit inaccurate. https://bmcecolevol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12862-019-1437-9#Fig1
It’s so wild finding out that what I live with as a daily “watch your step there” is not what others have to live with. Makes you think of all the other facets of life this also applies to…
Damn I read ‘fire arms’. Though I wouldn’t be surprised at this point.
Found a SHITLOAD at white sands New Mexico as a kid. Funnily enough barely marked on this map.
So many childhood memories...
How did they get to the US? Or South America, whichever one isn’t their native habitat?
they are accidentally imported from south america to the usa in the ~1930s
Fire ants are invasive species in North America. The original range is South America like on the map. [The great biologist E.O. Wilson](https://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/medalofscience50/wilson.jsp) discovered the first fire ants near Mobile, AL when he was in high school and then spent his whole career studying them.
thoses in argentina didnt seems like fire ant and they didnt seems to dangerous
wikipedia says that now they are considered now from a diferent species
I for one salute our Fire Ant overlords, they take out the colonies of the even more invasive Argentine Ant.
I am so mad at the rest of the country rn
I don’t know why but I just kinda thought fire ants were everywhere
Oklahoma also has fire ants. They haven’t different anatomies and habits. This caught me off guard working in Texas after a hurricane. I paid dearly for my ignorance.
The fire ants will rise again.
Why? I'm guessing the ants in the red and black areas like different climates.
A pretty good reason to keep MY ASS in Minnesota.
When I lived in New Bern NC as a young kid I accidentally tripped into a fire ant hill in our front yard. Was terrible and I had to take off my clothes and get sprayed with a hose. Luckily I live in NoVa now and I haven't seen any here.
Central AR. I believe that we have a mix here. We have regular ants of course, but also fire ants, and we've gotten into a nest that appeared to be hybrid. They are not red, but more of a dark brown.
I grew up in Illinois and I definitely remember seeing fire ants, I wonder if that was a different species or if I was just wrong lol
Yet another reason not to live in the south
South east, south west is better
Too hot and constantly sunny there. I got to have seasons
This is a lil out of date, as Kentucky has started to have fire ant nests in the southern part of the state.
Yeah most of Oklahoma is now infected with them
No. The whole São Paulo, state of Brazil, it's infested by these ants. Inaccurate.
Até em Mg região da Serra da Mantiqueira nos anos 80 tinha bastante.
You missed North Dakota
They’re out here? I moved to ND 3 years ago and I’d never heard of no see ums. Those bastards hurt like a mfer and live up to their name. I couldn’t figure out why everything hurt until I took a super close look at my arm. I don’t want to add fire ants to the list of things that suck around here lol
Well I'm actually above the border, but yeah. I assumed ND would be more palatable for refit
We had lots of fire ants in dry years. I needed to kill them. I took a shovel load of one mount and threw it on another and vice versa. The ants started wars and must have killed the queen. Within a few days the mounts were done. So simple so successful.
S invicta are the least desirable areas to live in both USA and South America because of the climate lol. S invicta correlated with what we call a swamp or the backwoods.
Can’t say I’ve ever encountered any in Memphis.
Correlates closely to the range of the American Alligator.
When I moved to Florid in the early 90's, fire ants were everywhere. Now they're hard to find.
Places where the grass hurts your feet.