Fire+Ant-Ben



By: Ben Lythall

Introduction Fire ants are one of the 285 varieties of stinging ants worldwide. They are a dangerous pest that can spread easily. They can trigger allergies and cause pain to people and prey. Fire ants are called fire ants because their bit feels like fire. They are the most dangerous ant in the world. Fire Ants are an insect and are in the Hymenoptera family. Fire ants come from South America.



Anatomy Fire ants main body parts are the head, thorax and abdomen. They have 2 antennae to smell, 2 mandibles to taste, 1 tooth to eat food, 2 eyes to see, 6 legs to walk, 1 stinger on the abdomen and two nodes on the abdominal petiole. Worker fire ants are around 2-6mm long. The fire ant is copper brown in colour usually with a darker abdomen.

Habitat Fire ants live in wet habitats like forests, swamps, ponds and wet lands near a food source. Fire ants like to build their mounds in open sunny areas. Often mounds are found around rotting logs and around tree stumps. It is hard to see and find entry and exit holes in fire ants nests. Entry and exit holes are sometimes up to 12 metres away from the mound.

Feeding and Predators Fire ants only have one predator and it is the Phorid Fly. The Phorid Fly comes down into the ants nest and eats the Fire ants. Fire ants eat insects, plant material, and small animals, other mini beasts and their eggs eg: beetles, bugs, caterpillars, leaves, oils, fats and food scraps. Worker fire ants do not eat solid food. They only drink liquids. They regurgitate the liquid and share it with members of the nest.

Food chain



bettle.....................................................................fire ant..........................................................phorid fly

Reproduction and Life Cycle A fire ants life cycle takes an average 30 days from egg to adult. First the male and female mate. The male dies. The first stage of its life cycle is eggs are laid; The queen ant lays the eggs. The queen ant lays 10-20 egg in 24 hours. The second part of their life cycle is larva: The eggs hatch and form into larva and start to eat. Next stage is pupa: Larva turn into pupa and they start to eat meats. The last stage of their life cycle is adult: They start to come out of the nest and search for food themse

Fascinating Facts . The scientific name for Fire ants is Solenopsis Invicta.
 * Fire ants may harm our native plants and animals.
 * If the ants sense increased water levels in their nest, they will come together and form a huge ball that is able to float, to escape the flood.
 * They were discovered in Brisbane in February 2001. They are not sure how or when they got to Australia.