Southern Fire Ants in Jamestown California

On 3 August 2016 we received a report of fire ants that were stinging the occupants of a house, and their dogs, in the Stent area, near Jamestown. Then, on 8 September 2016, we identified southern fire ants at a school in the Jamestown area, about two miles away; they’d stung a student on a lawn area.

It appears that southern fire ants  (we had California State experts confirm the id)  are now widespread in the Jamestown area of Tuolumne county. This is a new development, as we have not seen fire ants here. They are common in Oakdale, but essentially unseen up here. Maybe the drought, and warmer winters, have allowed these ants to extend their range farther up into the foothills.

Photos below:

Click to enlarge.