Similarity in Venom Alkaloid Chemistry of Alate Queens of Imported Fire Ants: Implication for Hybridization between Solenopsis richteri and S. invicta in the Southern United States

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 702-713 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Chen ◽  
Yong-Yue Lu ◽  
Qiong-Bo Hu ◽  
Henry Y. Fadamiro
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Fire Ants ◽  
Southern United States ◽  
Solenopsis Richteri ◽  
Imported Fire Ants

Fire Ant Envenomation in Children

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1984 ◽  
Vol 73 (5) ◽  
pp. 689-692
Author(s):  
Charles M. Ginsburg
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Solenopsis Invicta ◽  
The United States ◽  
Fire Ants ◽  
Fire Ant ◽  
Southern United States ◽  
Solenopsis Richteri ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Scant Attention

Fire ants (Solenopsis richteri and Solenopsis invicta) have received scant attention from individuals other than agriculturists, entomologists, and victims of the bite and sting. Since their original importation into Mobile, Alabama, these small, seemingly benign, creatures have slowly migrated throughout most of the southern United States. Not unexpectedly, physicians working in the southern portions of the United States have been confronted with increasingly large numbers of patients, particularly children, who have been bitten and envenomated by these insects. Information regarding the pathogenesis of fire ant bite reactions and an approach to treatment are provided.

Near Fatal Fire Ant Envenomation of a Newborn

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 90 (4) ◽  
pp. 622-624
Author(s):  
WILLUAM E. HARDWICK ◽  
JAMES A. ROYALL ◽  
BRUCE A. PETITT ◽  
SAMUEL J. TILDEN
Keyword(s):  
Solenopsis Invicta ◽  
Fire Ants ◽  
Fire Ant ◽  
Port City ◽  
Southern States ◽  
South Central ◽  
Solenopsis Richteri ◽  
Central United States ◽  
Imported Fire Ants ◽  
Venom Hypersensitivity

Imported fire ants, Solenopsis richteri and Solenopsis invicta, are menacing health hazards for the 20 to 30 million people who live in the fire ant-infested regions of the southeastern and south central United States. In the early 1900s, fire ants were brought into the port city of Mobile, Alabama, on vegetation and produce from South America. Their aggressive behavior compared to native ants and the favorable climate throughout the southeast allowed extensive spread. In 1985 it was estimated that fire ants infested approximately 250 million acres in eleven southern states and Puerto Rico.1 In infested areas fire ants account for 90% of all ant populations and stings from fire ants are more frequent than stings from other hymenoptera, becoming the most common cause of insect venom hypersensitivity.

Intra- and inter-specific variation in alarm pheromone produced by Solenopsis fire ants

2017 ◽  
Vol 108 (5) ◽  
pp. 667-673 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Hu ◽  
R.R. Balusu ◽  
W.-Q. Zhang ◽  
O.S. Ajayi ◽  
Y.-Y. Lu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Alarm Pheromone ◽  
Relative Weight ◽  
Invasion Success ◽  
Fire Ants ◽  
Pheromone Component ◽  
Fire Ant ◽  
Southern United States ◽  
Specific Variation

AbstractSome fire ants of the genus Solenopsis have become invasive species in the southern United States displacing native species by competition. Although the displacement pattern seems clear, the mechanisms underlying competitive advantage remain unclear. The ability of ant workers to produce relatively larger amount of alarm pheromone may correspond to relative greater fitness among sympatric fire ant species. Here we report on quantitative intra-specific (i.e. inter-caste) and inter-specific differences of alarm pheromone component, 2-ethyl-3,6-dimethylpyrazine (2E36DMP), for several fire ant species. The alarm pheromone component was extracted by soaking ants in hexane for 48 h and subsequently quantified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry at single ion monitoring mode. Solenopsis invicta workers had more 2E36DMP than male or female alates by relative weight; individual workers, however, contained significantly less pyrazine. We thus believe that alarm pheromones may serve additional roles in alates. Workers of Solenopsis richteri, S. invicta, and hybrid (S. richteri × S. invicta) had significantly more 2E36DMP than a native fire ant species, Solenopsis geminata. The hybrid fire ant had significantly less 2E36DMP than the two parent species, S. richteri and S. invicta. It seems likely that higher alarm pheromone content may have favored invasion success of exotic fire ants over native species. We discuss the potential role of inter-specific variation in pyrazine content for the relationship between the observed shifts in the spatial distributions of the three exotic fire ant species in southern United States and the displacement of native fire ant species.

SUPERCOOLING STUDIES ON THE IMPORTED FIRE ANTS: SOLENOPSIS INVICTA AND SOLENOPSIS RICHTERI (HYMENOPTERA: FORMICIDAE) AND THEIR HYBRID

1989 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 361-364 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stan K. Diffie ◽  
D. Craig Sheppard
Keyword(s):  
Solenopsis Invicta ◽  
Parental Species ◽  
Fire Ants ◽  
Fire Ant ◽  
Cold Temperatures ◽  
Northern Latitude ◽  
Solenopsis Richteri ◽  
Lower Temperature ◽  
Imported Fire Ants

The discovery of hybrid fire ants, Solenopsis invicta × S. richteri, in northwest Georgia at a more northern latitude than S. invicta led to an investigation into the hybrid's ability to withstand cold temperatures. This study was undertaken to determine if the hybrid would supercool at a lower temperature than either parental species. Major workers, male alates, and female alates of the three ant types were collected, and supercooling points were determined. Of the three castes tested, only male alates of the hybrid and S. richteri had lower supercooling points than did S. invicta. The inhabitance of north Georgia by the hybrid fire ant and not S. invicta does not seem to be determined by supercooling.

Statewide Survey of Imported Fire Ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Populations in Tennessee

2009 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason B. Oliver ◽  
Robert K. Vander Meer ◽  
Samuel A. Ochieng ◽  
Nadeer N. Youssef ◽  
Eva Pantaleoni ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solenopsis Invicta ◽  
Cuticular Hydrocarbon ◽  
The State ◽  
Fire Ants ◽  
Fire Ant ◽  
Virus Genotype ◽  
Solenopsis Richteri ◽  
Solenopsis Invicta Buren ◽  
Imported Fire Ants ◽  
Imported Fire Ant

Imported fire ants (Solenopsis spp.; Hymenoptera: Formicidae) occupy 54 counties (~5.4 million ha) in Tennessee. To better understand the fire ant species distribution in Tennessee, the state was divided into 16.1 × 16.1 km grids, and a single colony was sampled for cuticular hydrocarbon and venom alkaloid analyses within each grid. A total of 387 samples was processed from which 9 (2.3%), 167 (43.2%), and 211 (54.5%) were identified as red (Solenopsis invicta Buren), black (Solenopsis richteri Forel), or hybrid (S. invicta × S. richteri) imported fire ants, respectively. The S. invicta was only found near metropolitan Nashville in Davidson and Williamson counties and at one site in Decatur Co. All samples east of Franklin Co. were identified as hybrids. Tennessee counties west of Lincoln were predominantly S. richteri (86.5%) as opposed to hybrid (13.0%) and S. invicta (0.5%). The exception was Hardin Co., which was predominantly hybrid. Counties containing both hybrid and S. richteri (all in the middle and western part of the state) included Bedford, Decatur, Franklin, Giles, Hardeman, Hardin, Haywood, Lawrence, Lincoln, Marshall, Maury, McNairy, Perry, and Wayne. The S. invicta samples collected from one Williamson Co. site were determined to be polygyne and infected with the Solenopsis invicta virus (genotype SINV-1 A). This was the first detection of polygyne imported fire ant in Tennessee. The SINV-1 A virus was also a new find at the time of detection, but has been previously reported. The survey results are being used to direct current and future biological control efforts against imported fire ants in Tennessee.

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