From 9 to 20 Queens, All Our Fire Ants Sprang

The entire U.S. population of red fire ants, which is... well, the only number bigger than the national debt, came from just nine to 20 very prolific queens in Mobile, Alabama, according to researchers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

A well-deserved member of the World Conservation Union's top 100 worst invasive alien species, the red fire ant is believed by USDA researchers to have first come to the U.S. from its native South America on board trading boats in mid-1930s. The painful pest now calls more than 320 million acres in several southern states and Puerto Rico home.

Besides their aggressive nature of swarming and delivering painfully dangerous stings to people and animals, fire ants build massive mounds and tunnels that cause millions of dollars in damage to plants, farm buildings and equipment every year.

Biological, or non-chemical control of the red fire ant continues to be a major area of research for the Agricultural Research Service.

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