Solenopsis xyloni
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
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 |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Fire Ant sighting in Las Vegas on a given day, based on 82 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 5th most-seen of the 111 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February and October
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Fire Ant in Las Vegas on a given day, against under 5% in January, the lowest month. Those are among Las Vegas's wettest months, with about 20 mm of rain a month against almost none in June.
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.
Yes
Of the 6 cities where we can rate Southern Fire Ant sightings, Las Vegas has the highest daily chance: about 20%. Next come Mesa (United States, about 20%) and Phoenix (United States, about 10%).
Same family: Formicidae
The closest relatives of the Southern Fire Ant that you can see in Las Vegas (family Formicidae, Ants) are Argentine Ant (about 20%), Rough Harvester Ant (about 10%) and Dark Rover Ant (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Southern Fire Ant is recorded against all the insects logged in Las Vegas (82 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.
