Alva Review-Courier -

They sting, damage crops and wildlife, and are extending their range in the United States.

Imported fire ants are unwelcome guests here, and careless plant shipping helps them spread.

A colony was discovered this spring in palm trees sent from Florida to Delaware, a state where the stinging insects have not yet become established.

Two different fire ant species were introduced a century or so ago into Mobile, Alabama, hidden in soil ballast on cargo ships from South America, the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture says. Since then, they've infested 14 mostly southern states and Puerto Rico, where they h...