The southern fire ant (''Solenopsis xyloni''), also known as the Californian fire ant or cotton ant, is a stinging

fire ant Fire ants are several species of ants in the genus ''Solenopsis'', which includes over 200 species. ''Solenopsis'' are stinging ants, and most of their common names reflect this, for example, ginger ants and tropical fire ants. Many of the nam ...

native to southern parts of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Its behaviour is similar to the

red imported fire ant ''Solenopsis invicta'', the fire ant, or red imported fire ant (RIFA), is a species of ant native to South America. A member of the genus ''Fire ant, Solenopsis'' in the subfamily Myrmicinae, it was Species description, described by Swiss ento ...

''(S. invicta)'', although its sting is less painful. It has a broad and opportunistic diet, and will store seeds in its nest and eat honeydew collected from other insects. Monday, 16 December 2019 The southern fire ant shares its range with the

(''S. invicta''), the golden fire ant (''S. aurea'') and '' S. amblychila''. The southern fire ant has the widest distribution of these, occurring from the

Carolinas The Carolinas, also known simply as Carolina, are the U.S. states of North Carolina and South Carolina considered collectively. They are bordered by Virginia to the north, Tennessee to the west, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the southwes ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, including

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, lowland

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

, and southern

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3714975 Solenopsis (ant) Insects described in 1879 Hymenoptera of North America