"... Fire Ant are most notorious for their stinging behavior and the burning sensation they produce (hence the name “fire ant”). A person or animal disturbing the nest will find they are swarmed with hundreds of ants. But you do not need to disturb the nest to get bitten.
These ants are tiny and easy to miss. You won't feel them crawling on you. You'll just feel the sting, which is like a bad mosquito bite. Since you can't feel them, you could have lots of them crawling on you, maybe under your socks or shirt, and not know it until they start biting.
Most often the ants have been crawling on you for 10 seconds or more before they grab the skin with their mandibles, double over their abdomens, and inject their stingers, containing a toxic alkaloid venom. A single fire ant can bite and sting its victim repeatedly and will continue to do so even after their venom sac is empty. The stings often leave a burning and itching sensation, usually followed by the formation of a white pustule. There will not always be a white postule. The bites may take up to several weeks to disappear. The blisters become itchy and are prone to infection if they are broken. So try real hard not to scratch them open. If they are not properly cleaned or treated, they may cause an infection or leave permanent scarring.
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1 comment:
we called them pissants where I came from.
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