Red imported fire ant, painful sting, very fast growth. Invasive species banned in the European Union since 2022: keeping, breeding, selling or transporting it is prohibited. Under federal quarantine in the US. Never release it. No real hibernation.
Work out the amounts for your colony →Calculator opened with Solenopsis invicta 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 invicta already selected: number of workers, brood, temperature. Free, no account.