FIRE ANTS ARE ONE OF NATURE’S MOST FEARSOME CLEANING FORCES.
A RED IMPORTED FIRE ANT ARMY CAN TAKE DOWN PREY MUCH LARGER THAN ITSELF, AND STRIP A CARCASS CLEAN OVERNIGHT.
DOZENS, EVEN HUNDREDS, OF FIRE ANTS STING IN UNISON—AND THIS IS WHAT HUMANS HAVE COME TO FEAR.
THE ANT BITES DOWN, AND THEN STINGS, INJECTING A TOXIC VENOM THAT BURNS LIKE, WELL, FIRE.
RED IMPORTED FIRE ANTS WERE INTRODUCED TO THE UNITED STATES IN THE 1930S, PROBABLY STOWING AWAY IN BALLAST ON A BRAZILIAN CARGO SHIP.
NOW THEY’VE SPREAD ACROSS SEVERAL SOUTHERN STATES.
THE ANTS BUILD LARGE NESTS IN THE SOIL, AND ONCE ESTABLISHED, ARE KNOWN TO DEVASTATE THE ECOSYSTEM AROUND THEM.
THEY’VE BEEN KNOWN TO RADICALLY REDUCE THE NUMBER OF ANIMAL SPECIES IN A GIVEN AREA… SOMETIMES ELIMINATING THEM ENTIRELY—WITH THE POWER OF THE SWARM.
ATTACK ON A BEETLE NOT GOING WELL? CALL IN REINFORCEMENTS.
FIRE ANTS CAN AGGRESSIVELY TAKE OVER AN AREA AND SPREAD… LIKE WILDFIRE.
