Skip to main content
ARS Home » Southeast Area » Gainesville, Florida » Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology » Imported Fire Ant and Household Insects Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #143057
Title: AN INSECT PEST FOR AGRICULTURAL, URBAN, AND WILDLIFE AREAS: THE RED IMPORTED FIRE ANT

Author
item KLOTZ, JOHN - UNIV OF CALIF. RIVERSIDE
item JETTER, KAREN - UNIV OF CALIF. DAVIS
item GREENBERG, LES - UNIV OF CALIF. RIVERSIDE
item HAMILTON, JAY - UNIV OF CALIF. RIVERSIDE
item KABASHIMA, JOHN - UNIV OF CLAIF. DAVIS
item Williams, David

Submitted to: Exotic Pests and Diseases
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/5/2003
Publication Date: 6/9/2003
Citation: KLOTZ, J.H., JETTER, K.M., GREENBERG, L., HAMILTON, J., KABASHIMA, J., WILLIAMS, D.F. AN INSECT PEST FOR AGRICULTURAL, URBAN, AND WILDLIFE AREAS: THE RED IMPORTED FIRE ANT. SUMNER D.A. EDITOR. AMES, IA: IOWA STATE PRESS; CHAPTER 10, 2003. p. 151-166. EXOTIC PESTS AND DISEASES: BIOLOGY AND ECONOMICS FOR BIOSECURITY. 2003.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The Red Imported Fire Ant (RIFA), Solenopsis invicta (Buren), is an insect pest of particular importance in California due to its potential impact on public health, agriculture, and wildlife. In 1997, RIFAs hitchhiked to the Central Valley on honeybee hives brought in from Texas for pollination of an almond orchard (Dowell et al. 1997). There has been local spread from these locations to surrounding irrigated areas. In 1998 the ants were detected in several other locations including an area covering at least 50 square miles of Orange County. As a consequence, all of Orange County, parts of Riverside County between Palms Springs and Indio, and one square mile of the Moreno Valley, were quarantined. RIFA has both beneficial and detrimental effects on our environment. Their large mounded nests, which can be 35 cm (1.1 feet) high , damage mowing and harvesting equipment. When people or animals disturb their nest, the highly aggressive ants swarm out, attack and sting the unwary intruder. In some cases people hypersensitive to their venom have died. The spread of RIFA throughout California will result in the establishment of a major nuisance pest. Annual losses are estimated to be between $389 million at the low level and $994 million at the high. Regulatory agencies and academic institutions should collaborate closely to address the imported fire ant problem in a coordinated effort through research, education and regulatory programs before fire ants become permanently entrenched in California. This chapter discusses all of the aspects related to the invasion of the imported fire ant in California.