Seasonal studies of an isolated red imported fire ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) population in eastern Tennessee

Seasonal studies on a 1,200-ha isolated infestation of Solenopsis invicta Buren located in McMinn County, TN, were initiated in 1993 and continued through 1997. Winter survivability was evaluated and compared with a southern Mississippi site. The impact of S invicta on local myrmecofauna was compared with a Tennessee non-infested site. Data collected over four winters indicate that consecutive days at a low ambient air maximum temperature is more indicative of S. invicta winter survivability than minimum temperature. After significant S. invicta mortality the first winter (1993-1994), we did not find significant differences in ant species diversity between the S. invicta infested Tennessee site and a similar, but non-infested site, 32 km away. Species commonly collected in the S. invicta infested site included Forelius pruinosus Roger, an unnamed Forelius sp., Paratrechina terricola (Buckley) and Pheidole vinelandica Forel.