Fire ants (Solenopsis fugax)
Solenopsis fugax · Solenopsis
Fire ants (Solenopsis fugax). Recorded flying from August through September. Orange-brown head, reddish-brown mesosoma, dark glossy brown gaster. Winged queen with translucent wings folded over a deep, glossy dark gaster contrasting with the lighter mesosoma. Recorded near 4 of the 306 locations Dealate tracks.
When do fire ants fly?
Recorded flying from August through September.
Flight calendar
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Queen appearance
Orange-brown head, reddish-brown mesosoma, dark glossy brown gaster. Winged queen with translucent wings folded over a deep, glossy dark gaster contrasting with the lighter mesosoma.
quick, secretive movement typical of the cleptobiotic thief-ant lifestyle, foraging inside host ant nests
How to catch a queen ant →Founding care
Fully claustral: seal her in a test tube setup, somewhere dark and undisturbed. She raises the first brood on her own wing muscles and needs no food or opening until the first workers appear.
Needs a winter diapause: a cool, dark rest period each year.
Diet: Omnivorous (sugar water, honey, insects, meat, seeds nuts etc.)
Intermediate
Read more on AntWiki →Care data from antkeeping.info (CC BY 4.0).
Habitat
Soil mound · also soil · typical for this genus
Watch cleared, sunny ground for wingless queens. After a flight, watch bare or grassy ground for wingless queens.
Recorded near
Birmingham, Leicester, Coventry, Nottingham, Derby, Wolverhampton, Stoke-on-Trent, Dudley, Walsall, Mansfield, Telford, Gloucester, Newcastle under Lyme, Solihull, Burton upon Trent, Cheltenham, Chesterfield, Sutton Coldfield, West Bromwich, WorcesterBristol, Cardiff, Swansea, Swindon, Bournemouth, Newport, Poole, Mendip, BathPlymouth, ExeterSouthampton, PortsmouthMore Solenopsis species
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