The Red Imported Fire Ant ( Buren, 1972): A Persistent Global Invader and the Search for Effective Control

Adams CT (1986) Agricultural and medical impact of the imported fire ants. In: Lofgren CS and VanderMeer RK (eds) Fire ants and leaf-cutting ants. Biology and Management. Westview, Boulder, Colorado, pp 48–57. https://doi.org/10.1201/9780429038266

Addesso KM, Oliver JB, O’Neal PA, Youssef N (2017) Efficacy of Nootka oil as a biopesticide for management of imported fire ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). J Econ Entomol 110(4):1547–1555. https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/tox114

Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Adhikari U (2022) Insect pest management: mechanical and physical techniques. Rev Food Agric 3(1):48–53. https://doi.org/10.26480/rfna.01.2022.48.53

Article  Google Scholar 

Allen CR, Demarais S, Lutz RS (1994) Red imported fire ant impact on wildlife: an overview. Tex J Sci 46:51–59

Google Scholar 

Angulo E, Hoffmann BD, Ballesteros-Mejia L, Taheri A, Balzani P, Bang A, Renault D, Cordonnier M, Bellard C, Diagne C, Ahmed DA (2022) Economic costs of invasive alien ants worldwide. Biol Invasions 24:2041–2060. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-022-02791-w

Article  Google Scholar 

Appel AG, Gehret MJ, Tanley MJ (2004) Repellency and toxicity of mint oil granules to red imported fire ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). J Econ Entomol 97(2):575–580. https://doi.org/10.1603/0022-0493-97.2.575

Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Ascunce MS, Yang CC, Oakey J, Calcaterra L, Wu WJ, Shih CJ, Goudet J, Ross KG, Shoemaker D (2011) Global invasion history of the fire ant Solenopsis invicta. Science 331:1066–1068. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1198734

Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Banks WA, Lofgren CS (1991) Effectiveness of the insect growth regulator pyriproxyfen against the red imported fire ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). J Entomol Sci 26(3):331–338. https://doi.org/10.18474/0749-8004-26.3.331

Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Barr CL, Drees BM (1996) Final report of the Texas cattle producer’s survey: impact of red imported fire ants on the Texas cattle industry. Texas Agric Ext Serv Coll Station, TX

Beaury EM, Fusco EJ, Jackson MR, Laginhas BB, Morelli TL, Allen JM, Pasquarella VJ, Bradley BA (2020) Incorporating climate change into invasive species management: insights from managers. Biol Invasions 22:233–252. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-019-02087-6

Article  Google Scholar 

Briano JA, Williams DF (2002) Natural occurrence and laboratory studies of the fire ant pathogen Vairimorpha invictae (Microsporida: Burenellidae) in Argentina. Environ Entomol 31(5):887–894. https://doi.org/10.1603/0046-225X-31.5.887

Article  Google Scholar 

Burges HD (1981) Strategy for the microbial control of pests in 1980 and beyond. In: Burges HD (ed) Microbial control of pests and plant diseases 1970–1980. Academic Press, London and New York

Callcott AM, Collins HL (1996) Invasion and range expansion of imported fire ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in North America. Fla Entomol 79(2):240–251. https://doi.org/10.2307/3495821

Article  Google Scholar 

Carruthers RI, Soper RS (1987) Fungal diseases. In: Fuxa J, Tanada Y (eds) Epizootiology of insect diseases. John Wiley & Sons, New York, pp 357–416

Chen SQ, Chen HY, Xu YJ (2019) Safe chemical repellents to prevent the spread of invasive ants. Pest Manag Sci 75:821–827. https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.5184

Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Chen J (2005) Assessment of repellency of nine phthalates against red imported fire ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) workers using ant digging behavior. J Entomol Sci 40(4):368–377. https://doi.org/10.18474/0749-8004-40.4.368

Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Chen J (2006) Digging behavior of Solenopsis invicta workers when exposed to contact insecticides. J Econ Entomol 99(3):634–640. https://doi.org/10.1603/0022-0493-99.3.634

Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Chen J (2009) Repellency of an over-the-counter essential oil product in China against workers of red imported fire ants. J Agric Food Chem 57(2):618–622. https://doi.org/10.1021/jf8028072

Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Chen JSC, Snowden K, Mitchell F, Sokolova J, Fuxa J, Vinson SB (2004) Sources of spores for the possible horizontal transmission of Thelohania solenopsae (Microspora: Thelohaniidae) in the red imported fire ants, Solenopsis invicta. J Invertebr Pathol 85:139–145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jip.2003.12.011

Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Chen L, Morrison LW (2020) Importation biological control of invasive fire ants with parasitoid phorid flies—progress and prospects. Biol Control 154:104509. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocontrol.2020.104509

Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Chen S, Chen H, Xu Y (2018) Safe chemical repellents to prevent the spread of invasive ants. Pest Manag Sci 75(3):821–827. https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.5184

Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Chen J, Oi DH (2020) Naturally occurring compounds/materials as alternatives to synthetic chemical insecticides for use in fire ant management. InSects 11(11):758. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects11110758

Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Chen S, Ding F, Hao M, Jiang D (2020) Mapping the potential global distribution of red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta Buren) based on a machine learning method. Sustainability 12(23):10182. https://doi.org/10.3390/su122310182

Article  Google Scholar 

Cook JL, Johnston JS, Vinson SB, Gold RE (1997) Distribution of Caenocholax fenyesi (Strepsiptera: Myrmecolacidae) and the habitats most likely to contain its stylopized host, Solenopsis invicta (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Environ Entomol 26(6):1258–1262. https://doi.org/10.1093/ee/26.6.1258

Article  Google Scholar 

Cook JL, Vinson SB, Gold RE (1998) Developmental stages of Caenocholax fenyesi Pierce (Strepsiptera: Myrmecolacidae): descriptions and significance to the higher taxonomy of Strepsiptera. Int J Insect Morphol Embryol 27(1):21–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0020-7322(97)00030-5

Article  Google Scholar 

Colberg EM, Bradley BA, Morelli TL, Brown-Lima CJ (2024) Climate-smart invasive species management for 21st century global change challenges. Glob Chang Biol 30:e17531. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.17531

Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

deShazo RD, Williams DF (1995) Multiple fire ant stings indoors. South Med J 88(7):712–715. https://doi.org/10.1097/00007611-199507000-00003

Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

de Arruda FV, Teresa FB, Layme VM, Vicente RE, Camarota F, Izzo TJ (2022) Fire and flood: how the Pantanal ant communities respond to multiple disturbances? Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation 20:197–204. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pecon.2022.04.002

Article  Google Scholar 

Drees BM et al (2006) Managing imported fire ants in urban areas. Texas Coop Ext, Texas A&M Univ System, MP426, pp 23 https://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/87764. Accessed 15 Aug 2025

Drees BM (1988) Evaluation of selected alternative red imported fire ant mound treatments: the Yaard-Vark™, the Antser™, the Earthfire™ injection system and hot water. In: Proceedings of the imported fire ant conference, Athens, Greece, pp 165–171

Drees BM (2002) A review of “organic” and other alternative methods for fire ant control. Fire Ant Plan Fact Sheet #012, fireant/fapfs012.2002rev

Ecobichon DJ (2001) Pesticide use in developing countries. Toxicology 160(1–3):27–33. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0300-483x(00)00452-2

Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Bragard C, Baptista P, Chatzivassiliou E, Di Serio F, Gonthier P, Jaques Miret JA, Justesen AF, Magnusson CS, Milonas P, Navas-Cortes JA, Parnell S, Potting R, Reignault PL, Stefani E, Thulke HH, Van der Werf W, Vicent Civera A, Yuen J, Zappala L, Gregoire JC, Malumphy C, Kertesz V, Maiorano A, MacLeod A, EFSA Panel on Plant Health (2023) Scientific opinion on the pest categorisation of Solenopsis invicta. EFSA J 21(5):7998. https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2023.7998

Article  Google Scholar 

Fan Y, Pereira RM, Kilic E, Casella G, Keyhani NO (2012) Pyrokinin beta-neuropeptide affects necrophoretic behavior in fire ants (S. invicta), and expression of beta-NP in a mycoinsecticide increases its virulence. PLoS ONE 7(1):e26924. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0026924

Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Floerl O, Inglis GJ, Dey K, Smith A (2009) The importance of transport hubs in stepping stone invasions. J Appl Ecol 46:37–45. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2008.01540.x

Article  Google Scholar 

Follett PA, Neven LG (2006) Current trends in quarantine entomology. Annu Rev Entomol 51(1):359–385. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ento.49.061802.123314

Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Follett PA, Porcel S, Calcaterra LA (2016) Effect of irradiation on queen survivorship and reproduction in the invasive fire ant Solenopsis invicta (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and a proposed phytosanitary irradiation treatment for ants. J Econ Entomol 109:2348–2354. https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/tow207

Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Fu J, Tang L, Li W, Wang K, Cheng D, Zhang Z (2015) Fumigant toxicity and repellence activity of camphor essential oil from Cinnamonum camphora Siebold against Solenopsis invicta workers (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). J Insect Sci 15:129. https://doi.org/10.1093/jisesa/iev112

Comments (0)

No login
gif