Fire Ants
The fire ant Solenopsis invicta is a species that is expanding in range around the world and is most often involved in medical emergencies. The species is aggressive and has a painful sting. A person typically encounters fire ants by inadvertently stepping into one of their mounds, which causes the ants to swarm up the person's legs, attacking en masse. The ants respond to pheromones that are released by the first ant to attack. The ants then swarm and immediately sting when any movement is sensed. People who are sensitive to the venom can die of anaphylaxis. In a survey of 29,300 physicians in the United States of America (in 1989), reports of 83 fatalities were obtained. Some fire ant attacks on humans confined to beds have also been noted it has been noted that fire ants can be a particular threat in medical facilities in some locations since they can have nesting colonies inside human habitations.
Read more about this topic: Ants Of Medical Importance
Famous quotes containing the words fire and/or ants:
“And she’d had lucky eyes and a high heart,
And wisdom that caught fire like the dried flax,
At need, and made her beautiful and fierce,
Sudden and laughing.”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“this ant-and stone-swallowing uninjurable
artichoke which simpletons thought a living fable
whom the stones had nourished, whereas ants had done
so.”
—Marianne Moore (1887–1972)