Red Imported Fire Ants (RIFA), Solenopsis invicta, are stinging insects that belong to the same order as bees and wasps. The RIFA now infests more than 325 million acres in the southern United States, where it has become a considerable agricultural pest and a significant health hazard.
The most significant problem associated with fire ants is their stinging behavior. The ants are very aggressive and will readily attack anything that disturbs their mound. After firmly grasping the skin with its jaws, the fire ant arches its back as it inserts its rear-end stinger into the flesh, injecting venom from the poison sac. It then pivots at the head and typically inflicts an average of seven to eight stings in a circular pattern. Fire ant venom is unique because of the high concentation of toxins, which are responsible for the burning pain characteristic of fire ant stings.
In Oklahoma, the OSU Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology and Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry are dedicated to providing practical solutions to problems created by fire ants through research and extension. To learn more about our goals in these areas, click here.
