Solenopsis aurea

Wheeler, 1906

Golden Fire Ant

Solenopsis aurea, commonly known as the golden fire , is a of ant in the Solenopsis. It is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. exhibit distinctive pale golden coloration with occasional brown spots, distinguishing them from other fire ant species.

Solenopsis aurea by (c) Elihu Hernandez Delgado, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Elihu Hernandez Delgado. Used under a CC-BY license.

Solenopsis aurea by (c) Jake Nitta, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Jake Nitta. Used under a CC-BY license.

Pronunciation

How to pronounce Solenopsis aurea: //səˈlɛn.əp.sɪs ˈɔːr.jə//

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Identification

The pale golden coloration of distinguishes S. aurea from the reddish-brown S. invicta () and other Solenopsis . The occasional brown spots on the golden background provide additional diagnostic features. Specific identification characters beyond coloration are not documented in available sources.

Images

Distribution

Southwestern United States and northern Mexico

Similar Taxa

Solenopsis invictaS. invicta has reddish-brown and with dark or all-over dark coloration, lacking the distinctive pale golden coloration of S. aurea .

More Details

Taxonomic note

Solenopsis aurea was described by Wheeler in 1906. It belongs to the saevissima group within Solenopsis, which includes several fire species.