home · Measurements · Source of fire ants fallout 3. Living rafts of fire ants. Help the ghouls take over Tenpenny Tower

Source of fire ants fallout 3. Living rafts of fire ants. Help the ghouls take over Tenpenny Tower

Ants are not such harmless and good-natured insects as they might seem at first glance. They fight to the death as in a real war, not wanting to concede either food, territory, or freedom to enemy individuals.

A scout Rhytidoponera victoriae in a dark shell with (not visible here) a metallic tint discovered a worker Stigmatomma ferruginea and attacked it. In case of victory (and for the stigmatoma - a specialized underground predator - on open space little chance) rhytidoponera will kill the enemy, drag it into its nest and let it feed on its younger sisters, the larvae.

A group of Asian tailor ants - the same ones that make houses from living leaves, “sewn” with silk that their larvae secrete (in other species, this silk is usually used for the shells of cocoons, which are popularly called “ant eggs”) - finished off Odontomachus - a dexterous hunter with a wasp sting and powerful jaws - and transport the body along a branch.

Size doesn't always matter. The Argentine ant boldly attacks the much larger red fire ant. The case takes place in the USA, where both species were accidentally introduced from South America, and in their homeland these ants successfully coexist, and in North America the small Argentine confidently pushes back the fire ant, and in general for the better - the red fire ant is a creature more dangerous for humans, its bites (more precisely, stings - this is not a shooting ant, but a stinging ant) ​​are more painful than those of a bee and can cause a powerful allergic reaction up to to anaphylactic shock. As for the Argentine ant, it is remarkable in that ants of this species from different anthills (even taken from different continents) do not quarrel with each other. Other species are usually not so friendly.

Two armies from different anthills of the same species of turf ant Tetramorium are fighting for territory. The soldiers are the same:

This is a battle with many victims, not for destruction, but only for the redistribution of the boundaries of feeding areas.

Small Azteca alfari ants zealously protect their tree from intruders. Together, they are not afraid of Odontomachus, whose jaws can slam shut with such speed that it is able to grab a springtail in a jump. This is a common tactic for ants of different species - immobilizing a large and dangerous enemy by stretching it by its limbs.

A large Podomyrma gratiosa carelessly wandered too close to a Crematogaster nest and was attacked. Podomyrma's powerful jaws and heavy armor would give him a serious advantage one-on-one, but the perfect group tactics of the Crematogasters leave him no chance.

Bad luck. Leaf-cutter ants (which, like termites, feed on fungi that grow on chewed leaf mass) tear apart the would-be queen Aphaenogaster cockerelli, which they caught on the ground after mating and already with its wings bitten off (she bit them off for herself), looking for a place to found a new colony.

Three leaf cutters, Acromyrmex striatus, kill another leaf cutter, Atta saltensis, that they caught in their territory. They often do not touch strangers of their own species, but are ruthless towards competitors.

Nomamyrmex wandering ants are one of the few that can successfully attack leafcutter anthills. Here the red leafcutter caught a Novamyrmex scout and finished him off so he wouldn't lead his army on them.

Azteca alfari workers interrogate a captured camponotus caught in their tree. It is interesting that violators are not always killed - this one, for example, was then simply dragged to the edge of a branch and thrown out.

The formicid Forelius nigriventris and the red fire ant Solenopsis invicta threaten each other, demonstrating two different strategies: the fire ant brandishes a stinger with a drop of poison at the tip, and the trout is ready to shoot acid.

Help has arrived and trout is trying to attack

Solenopsis defends its home

In these four photos, the situation is as follows: trout have gained access to a disturbed nest of fire solenopsis and a full-scale battle is about to take place.

A harvester ant, Pogonomyrmex desertorum, walked too close to a Forelius mccooki nest. Deal with an armored giant like this small company they cannot, but will pursue and pester him until he leaves.

A different fate awaits the same reaper, caught by the larger Argentine ants Linepithema humile, accidentally introduced by humans with goods to various countries around the world. Many endemic ant species are disappearing in areas where aggressive Argentines appear.

Crematogasters (yellow) use their stingers defensively, but they do not pierce the integument of their enemies, but spray poison with their stingers, demonstrating how the evolution from stinging to acid-shooting ants may have occurred. Characteristic Crematogasters - do not bend the abdomen down when attacking, but throw it behind the back, like a scorpion’s tail. In the photo, Crematogaster protects the found food (bait placed by the photographer) from the Pheidole genus scout who came second.

One Argentine ant attacks another. Argentine ants tend to form large "federations" - supercolonies, including millions of ants and thousands of nests. Nests of the same federation usually do not quarrel, but ants from neighboring supercolonies attack each other.

Workers of the South American ant Linepithema iniquum from neighboring colonies fight for control of an orchid.

Two hunters of the black bulldog ant Myrmecia pilosula from neighboring nests got into a fight. A jaw grab followed by an attempt to sting the opponent.

These primitive, but very impressive in appearance, ants, more reminiscent of wingless wasps, have excellent vision and can move along the ground using a series of long jumps of 10 cm each. They are responsible for more human deaths in Tasmania than venomous spiders, snakes, wasps and sharks combined (their victims are not eaten alive, of course, they simply die from anaphylactic shock after being bitten).

Neivamyrmex californicus live primarily by hunting other ants. The picture shows two of them attacking a tetramorium worker while their brethren are plundering his anthill.

Odontomachus expels a fellow bird from a neighboring nest from its territory.

A couple of Asian tailor ants disassemble a small Pheidole for parts

And here is Opsithopsis respiciens. But their life is not easy either - pay attention to the veteran’s hind limb on the left.

Tailor ants Oecophylla longinoda quarter a Polyrhachis scout caught on their tree

Small workers of the related species Pheidole spininodis (left) and Pheidole bergi locked jaws in a boundary showdown.

Pheidole megacephala, like many other ants, deals with large prey by holding it and taking it apart at the joints. Here they attacked the worker legionnaire ant Dorylus.

The cruelty of ants towards strangers is justified - the Pheidole nests themselves are desirable prey for nomadic ants. If the scout who discovered the nest leaves alive, he will lead his horde to the anthill. The large one at the top is a feidole soldier with a large head and possible mandibles, specialized for protecting the nest. Here he attacks stray Neivamyrmex who are trying to steal pupae and larvae from his native anthill in order to raise them as slaves.

Slaves of ants enjoy the same rights as their owners - being raised in someone else's anthill, they simply consider themselves one of the invaders and live the same life as they would live in their own nest, only they work for the benefit of not their own, but someone else's species. The picture shows a hefty red slave, Formica gynocrates, with his small, dark-haired master, Formica vinculans; They themselves consider each other brothers, or rather sisters, and work together:

Some species do not have a worker caste at all - only warriors - and are not even capable of feeding on their own; their jaws are not intended for this, but only for fighting and carrying pupae. Here, for example, is the Amazon ant Polyergus mexicanus returning from a successful raid with prey:

Amazon ant and her slave Formica argentea

The big cabinet falls louder. Crematogasters bravely attack Podomyrma gratiosa, which in Australia is called the “muscleman ant” because of the characteristic thickenings on its legs.

Brute force against chemical weapons. One of the crematogasters found his death in the powerful mandibles of the "jock", but the end of the armored giant is near - his muzzle is covered with a layer of caustic foam from the acid from the stings of the deceased's fellows, and he is already almost immobilized.

Fight between Pogonomyrmex Maricopa and Aphaenogaster albisetosa workers. These ants live in the desert, where resources are very scarce and competition among ants is high, which leads to frequent conflicts.

Two Pogonomyrmex rugosus harvester ants from neighboring nests in a ritual duel - they push, measure strength, but do not harm each other. It is believed that colonies use these mock battles to gather information about their neighbors. Knowledge of the strength of ants from competing colonies helps to establish territorial boundaries without unnecessary casualties.

Once again, the feisty little Argentine ant attacks the red fire ant.

And here the red fire ant defends itself with its sting from a crowd of fellows from a competing nest.

An episode of a massive battle between two colonies of the brown turf ant.

This is why ants are usually so small: as can be seen from many examples, in the ant world, size and strength are not as advantageous in battle as a large number of. The Pheidole soldier is helpless against the Tetramorium sericeiventre horde.

In general, we can say that the main enemies of ants are others, especially in areas where food or living space is limited and competition is high. The picture shows two tetramorium workers killing a feidole worker.

Azteca colony guards bravely defend their nest during a raid by the nomadic Eciton hamatum ants, pinning down one of the invaders.

Etsiton is defeated.

Although the Etsiton soldiers easily deal with even such dangerous opponents as odontomachus; Eciton vagans generally feed on ponerines.

Specialized myrmecophages Cerapachys larvatus (black) invade the home of Stigmacros, wreaking havoc and destruction.

Acromyrmex disciger (with spines) and Pheidole vafra (smooth) quarreled over the bait. Although the Feidole won this battle, after 20 minutes the Acromyrmex brought up their main forces and pushed them back.

Feidole workers surrounded the tetramorium that wandered into their feeding territory. They will beat you.

An Asian tailor ant grabbed an Anoplolepis gracilipes. The latter are commonly called “crazy” because of their chaotic movement when worried, and this type, also known as the long-legged or Maldivian ant, is listed as one of the 100 most destructive pests in the world. They invaded (or rather, were accidentally introduced) into ecosystems from Hawaii to the Seychelles and formed supercolonies on Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean. Usually such battles go with the opposite advantage - like red fire ants, yellow crazy ones displace many local species of ants.

Quest “They!” can be picked up near the Supermart location, to do this you need to search around and find little boy, at first you might think that he is a little crazy, but the more you talk to him, the more information he will tell you. The first mission of this quest is to find the boy's father, Brian Wilkes.

Exercise 1: Find Brian Wilkes' father.

Description: The search for the boy Brian’s father should start in the town where they live, this Graydich, so the main character should go there first. Once in Graydich The main character will probably be upset that he didn’t take a flamethrower with him, because the city is captured by ants, you’ll probably be surprised, what’s so scary about ants?! We answer, nothing, only if they don’t the size of a motorcycle. Once in the city, we go to the house where Brian and his father lived, shooting ants along the way, be careful, the ants are fire. Once in the house, we see that the father is dead, unfortunately.

Task 2: Tell Brian Wilkes the sad news.

Description: After the father is found, we need to tell Brian about his death, we return to the shelter where we talked with him (the shelter looks like a cylinder, is located in Grayditch next to the diner).

Task 3: Eliminate the source of fire ants.

Description: The fate of the boy and his father presses on pity and the main character agrees to deal with the problem of fire ants once and for all. Before you go to the metro, where the ants come from, it’s worth clearing Graydich and visiting the scientist’s hut, where you can find out useful information O fire ants, the cabin is located next to Brian's house. After you have read the information and cleared the city, realizing that there is a very short supply of ammunition, go down to the subway. After walking around the tunnels and shooting a couple of dozen ants, the main character finds himself in a well-protected room in which Doctor Lesko is located. From a conversation with him, it becomes clear that fire ants were created precisely by scientists (this is the crazy world of Fallout 3), and these are no longer the largest individuals, scientists inject a mutagen into the eggs to reduce their size, and that’s exactly how they made these fire-breathing ants. Main character will offer to destroy the queen, but Doctor Lesko will suggest another way out: you need to destroy the five guard ants that guard the queen, then launch the desired impulse and the remaining ants will simply kill each other.

Lovely. Well, what to do, destroying the guards means destroying them.

Task 4: Kill all five nest guards.

Additionally: Do not harm the uterus.

Description: Well, there’s only one thing left to do, let’s go and kill the five guards of the ant queen. But it’s easy in words, but in reality these are serious rivals; you’ll have to shoot a lot. A little trick can help, if 2 guards are rushing at you and you shoot at both, they can attack each other, this can save ammo.

Task 5: Return to Doctor Lesko.

Description: After you successfully take out the five guards, you need to return back to the doctor. After you tell the doctor everything that happened, ask for a vaccination, either:

  • “ant power” +1 to strength +25 to fire resistance;
  • “ant eye” +1 to perception +25 to fire resistance;

Task 6: Return to Brian Wilkes.

Description: After this, you need to get out of the tunnels to the surface and tell Brian Wilkes that you have solved the problem of fire ants and they will no longer harm anyone. During the conversation, we again feel sorry for the boy and here comes a new task.

Task 7: Find a home for Brian Wilkes.

Description: From the conversation it becomes clear that the boy has an aunt in Rivet City, so we go there, look for her and tell her the sad story of her nephew, of course she will not refuse little Brian and agrees to accept him.

Task 8: Tell Brian the good news.

Description: Brian can be found in his old house, we tell him the good news that he will now live on a big ship.

On this quest “They!” finished and you can continue to go further through the Fallout 3 storyline.

There can only be one male in a colony of C. obscurior ants. If a competitor approaches the anthill, ruling man releases from the anus chemical compound, at the smell of which worker ants come running to kill the uninvited guest. The alpha male also ensures that the nurse ants destroy newborn males. This is easy to do with a one-day-old baby. But on the second day of life, the insect’s shell strengthens and the rivals enter into a fierce battle, producing a “killer” aroma and provoking the worker ants to fight. In 14% of cases the young male wins, in 43% the workers, in the heat of battle, eliminate both “bosses”, and their corpses are fed to the larvae.

9. Crematogaster Striatula: poisonous ants


The African ant C. Striatula is a specialist in hunting termites. When it sees prey, the predator turns its belly towards it and sprays a toxic substance. In a matter of minutes, the termite falls onto its back, its legs flailing in the air—until it dies. C. striatula also use a poisonous spray to protect themselves from other ants, which, unlike termites, are smart enough to escape.

8. Temnothorax Pilagens: invisible ants


Tiny T. Pilagens, or robber ants, do not have workers of their own, so they steal the larvae of even smaller relatives, whose colony fits in one acorn. The kidnappers manage to get inside through the only entrance undetected. Scientists believe that T. Pilagens use chemical camouflage that makes them virtually invisible to their enemies.

7. Solenopsis Fugax: Baby Killer Ants


2. Pheidole: Super Soldier Ants


Pheidole ants or big-headed ants are divided into three castes: small workers, large soldiers and huge super-soldiers. The head size of the latter is three times larger than that of ordinary “private soldiers”.

1. Nylanderia Fulva: Crazy Ants


N. Fulva, also known as Rasberry's mad ants, are destroying the hated fire ants in the southern United States. Fire ant venom is three times more toxic than the insecticide DDT. Most insects have nothing to resist this poison. But the law is not written to the “mad”: during a chemical attack, they become covered in their own poison, neutralizing someone else’s toxin.

Today, “killer ants” that are dangerous to people exist, but there are not very large numbers of them. As they say, fear has big eyes. Frightening stories about fire ants have acquired the status of legends among those people who like to spoil their nerves while lying on the sofa.

There is still some truth in these stories. Dangerous ants are indeed present in our world, but they have a completely different name. Biologists have their way scientific language They began to call them “fire ants” for their ability to inflict a painful, burning bite.

Some facts from history

Initially, these dangerous insects occupied Brazil, which is considered their homeland. In 1900, when trade in large quantities began to improve cattle, dangerous invaders settled in the United States. This “live” cargo with harmful insects was on merchant ships, which transported it by sea to a new habitat.

Fire ants quickly began to multiply in countless numbers. There were no natural enemies here, the climate is quite suitable to feel comfortable - this is a great success for harmful insects, it would be a sin not to use it. The ants moved further into California, occupying more and more territories.

If by the beginning of the 20th century the most dangerous ants in the world were limited only to the territory of South America, now they are found in Mexico, in the southern part of America, and on the islands of the Caribbean. The habitat of fire ants has become the lands of Australia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and China.

Fiery creatures inflicted merciless bites on farmers, wild and domestic animals. They besieged buildings and destroyed grain reserves. They erected their anthills on the tracks where the mowers should pass. All this undermined the image of capitalist countries.

Red fire ant: description

Who are they, what do these little “monsters” look like? Appearance resembles an ordinary ant, the only difference between them is the color. Fire ants, the photo of which is in front of you, have a reddish color, hence their name. They also owe their name to their ability to burn during a bite.

These are small insects. Body length depends on external conditions habitat and is 2-6mm. The body is divided into three main parts: head, chest, abdomen. The head and chest are lighter than the belly. Like other members of this family, red fire aggressors have six strong legs.

Ants are classified as having complete transformation. Their development consists of four stages:

1. Eggs.
2. Larva.
3. Doll.
4. Adult insect.

The larva resembles a helpless worm-like creature. She cannot move or feed on her own. It is served by working individuals until the larva, having gone through several stages of molting, gains the required mass to turn into a pupa.

On the last day before metamorphosis occurs, the larva stops eating and empties its intestines. Workers take care of the pupa, and in right time help her leave the cocoon.

Lifestyle of the most dangerous insects

Ants are considered insects that can cause a lot of surprise. We can start with the fact that these creatures, which do not have a developed brain, act quite clearly and organized when protecting their family and obtaining food. They also surprise with the structure of their community. Fire ants live in an anthill they built on their own, and their reproduction takes place there. Reproductive individuals have the ability to reproduce by cloning, mating only to produce sterile workers. Throughout her life, the queen gives birth to numerous offspring (about a quarter of a million ants).

The diet of these ants consists of plant and animal foods; they do not distinguish between them and happily eat both types. Basically, insects with a passion eat sprouts of herbal plants and shoots of small shrubs. The diet includes different types insects, larvae, caterpillars. Fire goosebumps often attack even mice, frogs and snakes, and do not ignore the corpses of large animals.

When attacking a victim, ants in a large group climb up the legs of the victim's body. They dig into the skin with their mouthparts and insert a sting. This is how a considerable dose of poison enters the animal’s body, which is toxic. At the site of the bite, the skin begins to burn severely, and unbearable pain occurs.

Fire ant family structure

An ant family is an organized community. It contains:

1. Brood.
2. Adults.
3. Infertile females (workers).

An ant family can consist of several dozen individuals, but sometimes develops into real colonies consisting of millions of individuals living over large areas. Large families are mainly wingless, sterile females, from which the worker castes, soldiers and various other groups are formed.

Almost every family contains males and one, sometimes several reproductive females, which have very beautiful name- queen, queen. Fire ants work as one unit, which is why the family is called a super organism. Parallels with human society, such as the division of labor, self-organization in difficult situations, and connections between family members, have long attracted the attention of scientists.

Fire Ant Source

Ants live with their families in nests, which are earthen mounds and are called anthills. Insects construct this source in the soil, under a stone or in wood. Some people use small plant particles.

Between the nests of fire ants there are tunnels through which they move freely in different directions. They can wander for a long time in search of food; during such trips, meetings with representatives of another colony often occur. During such unwanted encounters, fights break out between belligerent goosebumps.

Stopping at a rest stop where a fire ant nest is located is unsafe for a person who has allergic reactions. After all, ants not only have a terrifying appearance, but their attack can lead to irreversible processes in the body of a living creature.

The danger posed by the fire ant

These tiny ants are capable of destroying fauna, causing great loss to birds and livestock, and they kill weaker ants. We can say that all living beings are horrified by these insects and run away from them.

People show hostility towards miniature “monsters” for their ability to destroy all food supplies. In city apartments, ants arrange their nest in electrical appliances, which leads to short circuiting of the latter, and in rare cases, to a fire.

Another reason for the great danger of this for humans lies in toxic poison which they possess. Statistics confirm that fire ant bites result in death for approximately 30-35 people each year. This is explained by the fact that the poison has a neurotoxic and necrotic effect and contains the alkaloid solenopsin.

First aid for a “monster” bite

At the first suspicion of a bite dangerous insects You should quickly move away from the place where the source of fire ants is located. This must be done carefully so as not to cause unrest in the “family.” Usually, sentinel individuals begin to bite first.

You won’t be able to shake off the insects, which means you need to carefully remove them from clothing and parts of the body. They cannot be crushed, because crushed ants emit a smell, through which other members of the family receive a signal of danger and immediately begin a new attack.

After this, you need to free the affected area of ​​skin from clothing in order to reduce swelling. Rinse the area, then place a cold compress on it. Be sure to take an antihistamine. Then seek help from medical institution. Delay can be costly because the venom is a strong allergen that often causes pulmonary edema.

Ways to fight “fire monsters”

In the United States, billions of dollars are spent annually on the fight against fiery little “terrorists,” but there are still no tangible results. In this country, fire ants were given the name - imported insects. To combat them, pesticides are used, spraying them using helicopters. They manually try to eliminate the source of fire ants by digging and destroying nests and pouring boiling water into them. But the results of all these actions are zero.

As people say, every “villain” has its own justice, including little biting aggressors. The most effective and in an unusual way the destruction of these insects was a fly that kills fire ants. Meet this brave warrior called the humpback fly.

She lays eggs in a living insect, from which a larva subsequently develops, which, using a special enzyme, gnaws through the ant's head. This head serves as a living incubator for the fly.

Fire ant in Russia

In Russia, tropical “barbarians” are very rare. Harsh for them climatic conditions countries are not suitable. But fire ants were once discovered in a Moscow hospital. Basically, although these insects are found, they are small colonies that settle next to people in warm homes.

Redheads live on the territory of Russia and although they are called fiery, they are not as aggressive as their tropical counterparts. These insects build their nests - anthills - in coniferous and deciduous forests. This species of goosebumps destroys harmful insects, which is considered important for people.

Today, “killer ants” that are dangerous to people exist, but there are not very large numbers of them. As they say, fear has big eyes. Frightening stories about fire ants have acquired the status of legends among those people who like to spoil their nerves while lying on the sofa.

There is still some truth in these stories. Dangerous ants are indeed present in our world, but they have a completely different name. Biologists, in their scientific language, began to call them “fire ants” for their ability to inflict a painful, burning bite.

Some facts from history

Initially, these dangerous insects occupied Brazil, which is considered their homeland. In 1900, when the cattle trade began to improve, dangerous invaders settled in the United States. This “live” cargo with harmful insects was on merchant ships, which transported it by sea to a new habitat.

Fiery creatures inflicted merciless bites on farmers, wild and domestic animals. They besieged agricultural lands and buildings and destroyed grain reserves. They erected their anthills on the tracks where the mowers should pass. All this undermined the image of capitalist countries.

Red fire ant: description

Who are they, what do these little “monsters” look like? The appearance resembles an ordinary ant, the only difference between them is the color. Fire ants, the photo of which is in front of you, have a reddish color, hence their name. They also owe their name to their ability to burn during a bite.
These are small insects. Body length depends on external living conditions and is 2-6mm. The body is divided into three main parts: head, chest, abdomen. The head and chest are lighter than the belly. Like other members of this family, red fire aggressors have six strong legs.

Ants are classified as insects with complete metamorphosis. Their development consists of four stages:

1. Eggs.
2. Larva.
3. Doll.
4. Adult insect.

The larva resembles a helpless worm-like creature. She cannot move or feed on her own. It is served by working individuals until the larva, having gone through several stages of molting, gains the required mass to turn into a pupa.

On the last day before metamorphosis occurs, the larva stops eating and empties its intestines. Working individuals take care of the pupa and, at the right time, help it leave the cocoon.

Lifestyle of the most dangerous insects

Ants are considered insects that can cause a lot of surprise. We can start with the fact that these creatures, which do not have a developed brain, act quite clearly and organized when protecting their family and obtaining food. They also surprise with the structure of their community. The most dangerous insects, fire ants, live in an anthill they built on their own, and their reproduction takes place there. Reproductive individuals have the ability to reproduce by cloning, mating only to produce sterile workers. Throughout her life, the queen gives birth to numerous offspring (about a quarter of a million ants).
The diet of these ants consists of plant and animal foods; they do not distinguish between them and happily eat both types. Basically, insects with a passion eat sprouts of herbal plants and shoots of small shrubs. The diet includes different types of insects, larvae, and caterpillars. Fire goosebumps often attack even mice, frogs and snakes, and do not ignore the corpses of large animals.

When attacking a victim, ants in a large group climb up the legs of the victim's body. They dig into the skin with their mouthparts and insert a sting. This is how a considerable dose of poison enters the animal’s body, which is toxic. At the site of the bite, the skin begins to burn severely, and unbearable pain occurs.

Fire ant family structure

An ant family is an organized community. It contains:

1. Brood.
2. Adults.
3. Infertile females (workers).

An ant family can consist of several dozen individuals, but sometimes develops into real colonies consisting of millions of individuals living over large areas. Large families are mainly wingless, sterile females, from which the worker castes, soldiers and various other groups are formed.

Almost every family contains males and one, sometimes several reproductive females, which have a very beautiful name - queen, queen. Fire ants work as one unit, which is why the family is called a super organism. Parallels with human society, such as the division of labor, self-organization in difficult situations, and connections between family members, have long attracted the attention of scientists.

Fire Ant Source

Ants live with their families in nests, which are earthen mounds and are called anthills. Insects construct this source in the soil, under a stone or in wood. Some people use small plant particles to create an anthill.

Between the nests of fire ants there are tunnels through which they move freely in different directions. They can wander for a long time in search of food; during such trips, meetings with representatives of another colony often occur. During such unwanted encounters, fights break out between belligerent goosebumps.

Stopping at a rest stop where a fire ant nest is located is unsafe for a person who has allergic reactions. After all, ants not only have a terrifying appearance, but their attack can lead to irreversible processes in the body of a living creature.

The danger posed by the fire ant

These tiny ants are capable of destroying fauna, causing great loss to birds and livestock, and they kill weaker ants. We can say that all living beings are horrified by these insects and run away from them.

People show hostility towards miniature “monsters” for their ability to destroy all food supplies. In city apartments, ants make their nest in electrical appliances, which leads to short circuits and, in rare cases, to a fire.

Another reason for the great danger of this type of ant for humans lies in the toxic poison that they possess. Statistics confirm that fire ant bites result in death for approximately 30-35 people each year. This is explained by the fact that the poison has a neurotoxic and necrotic effect and contains the alkaloid solenopsin.

First aid for a “monster” bite

At the first suspicion of a dangerous insect bite, you should quickly move away from the place where the source of fire ants is located. This must be done carefully so as not to cause unrest in the “family.” Usually, sentinel individuals begin to bite first.
You won’t be able to shake off the insects, which means you need to carefully remove them from clothing and parts of the body. They cannot be crushed, because crushed ants emit a smell, through which other members of the family receive a signal of danger and immediately begin a new attack.

After this, you need to free the affected area of ​​skin from clothing in order to reduce swelling. Rinse the area, then place a cold compress on it. Be sure to take an antihistamine. Then seek help from a medical facility. Delay can be costly because the venom is a strong allergen that often causes pulmonary edema.

Ways to fight “fire monsters”

In the United States, billions of dollars are spent annually on the fight against fiery little “terrorists,” but there are still no tangible results. In this country, fire ants were given the name - imported insects. To combat them, pesticides are used, spraying them using helicopters. They manually try to eliminate the source of fire ants by digging and destroying nests and pouring boiling water into them. But the results of all these actions are zero.

As people say, every “villain” has its own justice, including little biting aggressors. The most effective and unusual way to destroy these insects is a fly that kills fire ants. Meet this brave warrior called the humpback fly. She lays eggs in a living insect, from which a larva subsequently develops, which, using a special enzyme, gnaws through the ant's head. This head serves as a living incubator for the fly.

Fire ant in Russia

In Russia, tropical “barbarians” are very rare. The harsh climatic conditions of the country are not suitable for them. But fire ants were once discovered in a Moscow hospital. Basically, although these insects are found, they are small colonies that settle next to people in warm homes.
Red and red ants live in Russia. Although they are called fiery, they are not as aggressive as their tropical counterparts. These insects build their nests - anthills - in coniferous and deciduous forests. This species of goosebumps destroys harmful insects, which is considered important for people.