Painful sting, fast growth. S. invicta, S. richteri and S. geminata have been on the EU invasive species list since 2022 (keeping, selling and transport banned) and are under US federal quarantine. Never release them. Invasive fire ants need no real hibernation.
Work out the amounts for your colony →Calculator opened with Solenopsis sp. already selected: number of workers, brood, temperature. Free, no account.Calculator figures for moderate brood at 24 °C:
| WORKERS | PROTEIN | SUGAR | SEEDS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 1 fruit fly · Every 5 days | 1 drop · Every 4 days | 0.01 g / week |
| 50 | 5 fruit flies · Every 4 days | 2 drops · Every 3 days | 0.02 g / week |
| 150 | 4 juvenile crickets · Every 3 days | 6 drops · Every 3 days | 0.06 g / week |
| 400 | ¾ medium cricket · Every 3 days | 15 drops · Every 3 days | 0.2 g / week |
1 fruit fly ≈ a 2–3 mm insect; a medium cricket (1 cm) is about 50 fruit flies. 1 drop ≈ 0.05 mL.
Adjust to what you see: if food is left after 24 h, give less; if it all goes fast and the brood grows, give more.
Claustral founding: the queen lives on her reserves, do not feed her before the first workers.
No hibernation: keep it warm all year.
All species · Hibernation calculator
Work out the amounts for your colony →Calculator opened with Solenopsis sp. already selected: number of workers, brood, temperature. Free, no account.