I. Imported Fire Ants in the U.S. History and Program Overview

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I. Imported Fire Ants in the U.S.History and
Program Overview

• Based on a Presentation byDavid F.
  WilliamsDepartment of Entomology
  NematologyUniversity of Florida

A Teaching Module for Master Gardener Training
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Where are imported fire ants from? Where are
they found in the US?
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History of Imported Fire Ants

• 1918 estimated introductions occurred of black
  imported fire ant (Solenopsis richteri)
• First introduced in Mobile, Alabama
• Red imported fire ant (S. invicta) followed in
  the early 1930s
• The two species have hybridized
• Imported fire ants currently infest 330 million
  acres in the U.S.
• No natural enemies native to U.S.

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History of Imported Fire Ants, Cont.

• IFA are the most destructive and costly ants in
  the U.S.
• IFA thrive in disturbed habitats, natural or
  man-made disturbances
• IFA continue to expand in the U.S. and their
  final range has yet to be reached

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Acknowledgments for their contributions to the
original presentation

• Anne-Marie Callcot, USDA-APHIS
• David Oi, USDA-ARS
• Roberto Pereira, USDA-ARS
• Sanford Porter, USDA-ARS
• Bart Drees, Texas AM University
• Walter Tschinkel, Florida State University his
  book The Fire Ants, Spring 2006
• Fudd Graham, Auburn University

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For more information, visit eXtension at
http//www.extension.org/fireants
Publications, slide sets, streaming video,
posters, and more
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Acknowledgments

• Thanks to the Texas Imported Fire Ant Research
  Management Plan, Texas AM University System, for
  the use of many of the images seen in this
  presentation.
• Portions of this presentation were made possible
  by a grant from the Southern Region Sustainable
  Agriculture Research and Education Professional
  Development Program.
• Authors
• Kerry Smith Alabama Cooperative Extension
  System
• Molly Keck Texas AgriLife Extension Service
• Bart Drees Texas AgriLife Extension Service
• David Williams University of Florida
• Ken and Rufina Ward, Alabama AM University

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Acknowledgments

• Reviewers
• Dale Pollet Louisiana State University AgCenter
• Karen Vail, University of Tennessee
• Chazz Hesselein, Alabama Cooperative Extension
  System
• Kathy Flanders, Alabama Cooperative Extension
  System
• Editor, Technical Facilitator
• - Neal Lee