Fire Ants

[Poncho_NM]

Fire Ant
Solenopsis xyloni
www.desertusa.com

Entire Article Is At: https://www.desertusa.com/insects/fire-ants2.html

Three species of fire ants inhabit the desert southwest: the Solenopsis xyloni, the Solenopsis fire antaurea and the Solenopsis amblychila. The common name refers to the ants’ notoriously nasty sting. "Solenopsis" comes from the Greek solen (channel or pipe) and opsis (appearance, face). "Aurea" refers to that particular species’ golden coloring. In Spanish, fire ants are known as hormiga colorada (red ant) or hormiga brava (surly ant). In Portuguese, they are called formiga de fogo (fire ant), formiga lava-pé (wash foot ant) and formiga toicinheira (lard ant). Amblychila means blunt-lip, (Ambl (o,y) Greek for dull, blunt and Chilo = lip) in reference to the toothless clypeus (a mouthpart), and xyloni means of-wood. This one confuses scientists because the form is not good Greek and the meaning doesn't really fit the habitat, either.

Description

All three species look similar in shape, color and size. Fire ant workers come in two sizes. Minor workers may be as small as 1/10 inch in length. Major workers may measure up to 1/3 inch. Queens are slightly larger than the biggest workers. The S. xyloni generally has a yellowish-red head and a thorax with a black abdomen, known as the gaster. They may also be completely orangish-red or brownish black. California desert species are the reddest. Of the three species, S. xyloni most closely resembles the notorious red imported fire ant, S. invicta, an invasive species which has infested the entire Southeast. S. aurea is more yellowish than the two other species.

Range

S. xyloni has the widest distribution of the three species, occuring across the southern United States from the Carolinas to Georgia through lowland Tennessee and south-central Kansas to California. S. amblychila has been found in Ramsey Canyon, Arizona, in west Texas, and in the Dona Ana Mountains of southern New Mexico at elevations from 5000 to 8250 feet. S. aurea occurs from Texas to California at elevations below 6600 feet.

[Poncho_NM]

Identification and Control of Household Ants in New Mexico
By Richard “Bugman” Fagerlund

A 31 Page PDF Document: https://askthebugman.files.wordpress...nt-booklet.pdf

INTRODUCTION

This booklet is designed to help homeowners and the pest management professionals in New Mexico identify and control ants in and around a home or commercial business. The control methods are non-toxic and for homeowner use. The pest control professionals can use products labeled for the control of ants. Many of the ants covered are common in homes, while others are rarely encountered but should be recognized so they can be treated if necessary. The ants belong to the insect family FORMICIDAE.

The family is divided into 7 distinct subfamilies, but only 4 of them have species that may interact with people. There are approximately 240 species of ants belonging to 43 genera (groups) found in New Mexico. This booklet will cover 20 genera. In some cases, several distinct species in a genus will become pests, in other cases where there are many species in a genus, only a few will interact with people. The number of species we deal with is flexible, depending on habitat and what part of the state you are in. Also, most of the ants mentioned in this booklet are common in all western and central
states, so this booklet may be of help in much of the country.

All the illustrations came from AntWeb, which is the best website on the internet when it comes to information about ants. I also occasionally recommend a good cedar product to use in your home to control ants and other pests. It is Greenbug for Indoors and is available online from Greenbug Natural Pest Control Products.