CHAPTER ONE 

 INTRODUCTION 



The red and black imported fire ants, Solenopsis 

 invicta Buren and Solenopsis richteri Forel, are medical 

 and agricultural pests which infest ca 9.3 x 10 hectares 



Q 



(2.3 X 10 acres) in the Southeastern United States. Both 

 species were apparently introduced into the United States 

 with products shipped from South America to Mobile, Alabama, 

 about 1918 and 1940, respectively. The tropical fire ant, 

 Solenopsis geminata (Fabricius), may also be an introduced 

 species; however, it has been a resident of this country 

 for so long it is generally regarded as native. S. geminata 

 is not important as a pest, except in Hawaii where it has 

 been introduced. 



Efforts to control the imported fire ants by chemical 

 means have been the subject of serious controversy since 

 before 1960. Consequently, the discovery of microsporidian 

 infections in these ants in their native lands by Drs. G. E. 

 Allen, W. F. Buren, and A. Silviera-Guido greatly stimulated 

 interest in research on their possible use for biological 

 control. Earlier, surveys by several investigators had 

 failed to detect specific pathogens of fire ants in the 

 United States. 



