No. 1001 of 1,402
Red imported fire ant
Solenopsis invicta
Ants📌 Stings
Danger to people: PainfulIt can really hurt, but it is almost never serious.Red imported fire ant belongs to the group: Ants. It lives in: South America.2
Venom power
Stings
Venom comes out through a stinger.
How dangerous is it to people?
Danger to people: PainfulIt can really hurt, but it is almost never serious.🚑 If it bites or stings
- Wash and cool the stings.
- If the person has trouble breathing, swelling of the face or throat, or feels faint, it is an allergic emergency: call your emergency number.
Always call your emergency number first (112, 000, 911). This is general first aid guidance, not medical advice. First aid basics
⛑️ Stay safe
- Never touch, catch or tease a wild animal, even a small one, and even if it looks asleep or dead.
- Give it space. If you meet one, stay calm, step back slowly and let it go its own way.
- If one bites or stings you: stay calm, keep still, call your emergency number (112, 000, 911) or get to a hospital fast. Remember what it looked like, a photo helps.
It is not out to get you. It uses its venom to catch food or to protect itself, and it would much rather hide. More about staying safe
Where in the world?
How big is it?
How long is it?
💅small enough to sit on your fingernail
How big is Red imported fire ant compared to YOU?
Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
How fast is it?
A garden snail about 0.05 km/h (0.03 mph)
Red imported fire ant about 0.11 km/h (0.07 mph)
A tortoise about 0.3 km/h (0.19 mph)
A person walking about 5 km/h (3.1 mph)
A kid on a bike about 12 km/h (7.5 mph)
Where the facts come from
- Solenopsis invicta (iNaturalist): names and classification.
- Venom Wiki: the danger level, the typical size and the speed guess are our own. See how we work them out: How we rate danger.
Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are animal fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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