#3627 · 🐝 bees, wasps & ants

Red Imported Fire Ant

🇳🇱 Rode vuurmier ·Solenopsis invicta

🐝 Bees, wasps & ants 📍 in Europe, not in NL

10 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences

1. © Judy Gallagher · CC BY 4.0
2. © wwrauscher · CC BY-NC 4.0
3. © stevenw12339 · CC BY-NC 4.0
4. © Martin LaBar · CC BY-NC 4.0
5. © Judy Gallagher · CC BY-SA 4.0
6. © stevenw12339 · CC BY-NC 4.0
7. Coppell, TX, USA:© Gift Galore · CC BY-NC 4.0
8. Roswell, GA, USA:© Eric Cormier · CC BY-NC 4.0
9. Central Park, New York, NY, USA:© kkkariih · CC BY-NC 4.0
10. Texas, US:© Lisa Appelbaum · CC BY-NC 4.0

what is it?

The red imported fire ant ( Solenopsis invicta ), also known as the fire ant or RIFA , is a species of ant native to South America. A member of the genus Solenopsis in the subfamily Myrmicinae, it was described by Swiss entomologist Felix Santschi as a variant in 1916. Its current name invicta was given to the ant in 1972 as a separate species. However, the variant and species were the same ant, and the name was preserved...

base stats

NL sightings 0iNaturalist, research grade
worldwide 39,285iNaturalist observations

Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).

fun facts

No confirmed wild sightings in the Netherlands on iNaturalist: you'd have to travel for this one.
39,285 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
Scientifically named in 1972 (54 years ago).
Not originally Dutch: it was introduced to the Netherlands.