"The mounds have likely been there for a few months," Houseman says. "They mounts contained altes -- winged ants that are ready to fly out of the mound and start new mounds in the adjacent area."
Red imported fire ants are an exotic species brought to the United States more than 50 years ago in soil used as ballast in cargo ships from South America. Since then, they have spread throughout southeastern states, costing those states billions of dollars annually in injuries, treatment and losses to agriculture and livestock.
The fire ant's aggressive bite is compounded by the fact an individual ant bite releases pheromones which triggers all of the ants in the area to sting simultaneously.
The Missouri ants are likely to have spread from adjacent states on landscaping plants being used to replace those damaged in last winter's ice story, Houseman explains.
