The Red Imported Fire Ant (Solenopsis invicta), also known as simply the fire ant or RIFA, is a species of ant native to South America. A member of the genus Solenopsis (fire ants) in the subfamily Myrmicinae, it was described by Swiss entomologist Felix Santschi as a variant in 1916. Its current specific name invicta was given to the ant in 1972 as a separate species. However, the variant and species were the same ant, and the name was preserved due to its wide use. Though South American in ori