The Southern fire ant, Solenopsis xyloni, is a stinging fire ant native to southern parts of the United States. Its behavior is similar to the red imported fire ant (S. invicta), although its sting is less painful. Its main source of food is honeydew collected from aphids and other insects.
Southern fire ant shares its range (the area it inhabits) with the red imported fire ant (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 to Georgia through lowland Tennessee and south-central Kansas to California.
The scientific name comes from the Greek: Solenopsis means pipe-faced and xyloni means of-wood. This is unusual, however, because the Southern fire ant does not eat or inhabit bark or fallen timber.
Famous quotes containing the words southern, fire and/or ant:
“My course is a firm assertion and maintenance of the rights of the colored people of the South according to the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments, coupled with a readiness to recognize all Southern people, without regard to past political conduct, who will now go with me heartily and in good faith in support of these principles.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)
“Man, became man through work, who stepped out of the animal kingdom as transformer of the natural into the artificial, who became therefore the magician, man the creator of social reality, will always stay the great magician, will always be Prometheus bringing fire from heaven to earth, will always be Orpheus enthralling nature with his music. Not until humanity itself dies will art die.”
—Ernst Fischer (1899–1972)
“Before me you are a slug in the sun. You are privy to a great becoming and you recognize nothing. You are an ant in the afterbirth. It is in your nature to do one thing correctly: tremble.”
—Michael Mann, U.S. screenwriter. Frances Dollarhyde, aka “The Tooth Fairy” (Tom Noonan)