ceiling, and porch, but most often in and around door and window 
frames. C. clara Mayr occurs from Indiana to New Jersey and 
south to Texas and Florida, but is most common in the lower 
Mississippi Valley. Its nests are found in cane stems, branches, 
trees, rotten stumps and sometimes in the woodwork of houses. 
C. lineolata (Say) occurs in southern Canada and throughout 
eastern United States. It constructs fairly large nests, usually in 
the soil, but also in logs, stumps, dead trees, or in the woodwork 
of houses. When alarmed, the workers bite fiercely and give off a 
repulsive odor. C. laeviuscula Mayr and C. ashmeadi Mayr have 
been recorded nesting in various dead hardwoods in Mississippi. 
The Argentine ant, Jridomyrmex humilis (Mayr), an introduced 
species first recorded in this country at New Orleans in 1891, now 
occurs in many localities in the Southern States and California. 
Local infestations have also been found in St. Louis, Baltimore, 
and Chicago (660). Indoors, it feeds on almost every kind of food, 
especially sweets, meats, pastries, fruit, eggs, dairy products, 
animal fats, and vegetable oils; outdoors, it feeds partly on honey- 
dew produced by aphids, mealybugs, and scale insects. By foster- 
ing and protecting the latter insects from many of their enemies, 
they encourage the development of heavy infestations which are 
capable of causing serious damage to affected plants. They also 
remove seeds from seed beds and feed on the sap or fruit juices 
from various trees and plants. 
Argentine ants are more or less uniformly light brown or brown 
in color; the antennae are 12-segmented and without a club; and 
the petiole scale is well developed and inclined. Workers are from 
2.2 to 2.6 mm. long and when freshly crushed emit a stale, greasy, 
musty odor. Nests occur in all sorts of places—in the soil, in rot- 
ten wood, in cavities in trees, and in refuse piles, bird nests, bee- 
hives, and other places. The number of ants present in well-estab- 
lished infested areas is beyond comprehension. Fortunately, they 
are usually of minor importance as pests in forested areas. 
Iridomyrmex pruinosus (Roger) occurs throughout the Eastern 
and Southern States north to New York and Wisconsin. It nests 
in the ground and under the bark of logs and stumps and is some- 
times a nuisance in houses. The odor of freshly crushed workers 
resembles the odor of rotten coconut. 
The genus Solenopsis Westw. is represented by seven species in 
the United States, six of which occur in the Southeastern States. 
Nests are usually constructed in the soil, but also sometimes in 
rotten wood and in houses. The workers are aggressive and prac- 
tically omnivorous. Several species are serious economic pests. 
They may remove seeds from seed beds; kill young quail and 
poultry and even small game; gnaw into vegetables, fruits, and 
flowers; make large ugly mounds in fields, parks, playgrounds, 
and recreational areas; and damage young nursery trees. 
The imported fire ant, Solenopsis saevissima richteri Forel, an 
introduced species, first officially recorded in the United States at 
Mobile, Alabama, in 1930, now occurs from North Carolina to 
Florida, Texas and Arkansas, exclusive of Tennessee. Workers 
are about 2.8 to 6 mm. long and are usually reddish in color, ex- 
cept for a blackish gaster. Queens are about 9 mm. long. 
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