Solenopsis invicta (red imported fire ant).
Abstract S. invicta is an ant native to South America. It is an aggressive generalist forager that occurs in high densities and can thus dominate most potential food sources. It breeds and spreads rapidly and, if disturbed, can relocate quickly, ensuring the survival of the colony. S. invicta is highly invasive because of its high reproductive capacity, large colony size, ability to exploit human disturbances, wide food range and ability to sting. Its stinging ability allows it to subdue prey and even repel larger vertebrate competitors from resources (ISSG, 2014). S. invicta has become widespread in the southern USA and Caribbean after its introduction in the 1930s (Morrison et al., 2004). It has also been introduced to parts of Australia and New Zealand. S. invicta is one of the most notorious invasive ants and has been nominated for the 100 World's Worst Invaders list compiled by the Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG, 2014).