Solenopsis xyloni
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
The southern fire ant (Solenopsis xyloni), also known as the Californian fire ant or cotton ant, is a stinging fire ant native to southern parts of the United States. Its behaviour is similar to the red imported fire ant (S. invicta), although its sting is less painful. It has a broad and opportunistic diet, and will store seeds in its nest and eat honeydew collected from other insects.
The southern fire ant shares its range with the red imported fire ant (S. invicta), the golden fire ant (S. aurea) and S. amblychila. The southern fire ant has the widest distribution of these, occurring from the Carolinas to California, including Georgia, lowland Tennessee, Arkansas, and southern Kansas. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Death Valley National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Joshua Tree National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Saguaro National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Las Vegas | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Mesa | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Phoenix | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Ciudad Juárez | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 5 | Los Angeles | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | San Diego | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Fire Ant sighting in Ciudad Juárez on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 32nd most-seen of the 49 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May, July–September and December
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Fire Ant in Ciudad Juárez on a given day, against under 5% in January–April, June and October–November, the lowest months. Those are among Ciudad Juárez's wettest months, with about 35 mm of rain a month against 5 mm in April.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Southern Fire Ant sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
4th of 6
Of the 6 cities where we can rate Southern Fire Ant sightings, Ciudad Juárez ranks 4th at about 10%. The best odds are in Las Vegas (United States, about 20%), Mesa (United States, about 20%) and Phoenix (United States, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Southern Fire Ant is recorded against all the insects logged in Ciudad Juárez (6 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
