第 1030 號，共 1 402 號

European fire ant

Myrmica rubra

只是會痛會痛，但不會對你造成嚴重傷害。

螫吃：每樣都來一點

The European fire ant is a small red ant that lives across much of Europe and Asia, and has spread to parts of North America. It nests under stones, under fallen trees and in soil, including in meadows and gardens. It is worth knowing about because it will defend its nest aggressively and has a stinger.1

分布在

Europe, from Portugal to East Siberia and northern Greece to the forest-tundra zone; introduced to parts of North America1

歐洲, 亞洲

首頁

Lives under stones and fallen trees, and in soil. It is very common in meadows and gardens in Europe and the UK, so people often meet it there.1

長度

3,5 mm 到 7 mm (0,1 in 到 0,3 in)1

最高速度

大約 0,11 km/h（0,07 mph）

在陸地上, 粗略估計

牠吃什麼？

Feeds on honeydew produced by aphids and on many kinds of insects and other small invertebrates. It also eats pollen, which is rarely recorded in ants of the temperate zone. Workers search the area around the nest for plant and animal food.1

European fire ant 的照片 — European fire ant。照片：Even Dankowicz。 CC BY 4.0, iNaturalist.

怎麼認出牠

Mainly red in colour, with a slightly darker head1
Workers are yellowish brown, 3.5 to 5.5 mm long1
Smooth, shiny frontal triangle on the head1
Queens are a little larger, 5.5 to 7.0 mm long, with a larger thorax1
Males have a darker body than queens and workers1

常被誤認為： Very similar to M. ruginodis. M. rubra is common in southern England and becomes rarer further north, whereas M. ruginodis is common all over the UK, including northern Scotland.1

毒液力量

螫

毒液從螫針出來。

牠對人有多危險？

對人的危險: 疼痛可能會非常痛，但幾乎從來不會很嚴重。

These ants are aggressive. They often attack rather than run away, and will attack any creature that disturbs their nest. They are less aggressive than the red imported fire ant.1

牠害怕時會做什麼？

Attacks any creature that disturbs its nest, rather than running away.1

如果牠螫人

清洗並冷敷螫傷處。
如果傷者呼吸困難、臉部或喉嚨腫脹，或覺得快要昏倒，這就是過敏急症：打緊急電話。

一定要先打緊急電話（112、000、911）。這是一般急救指引，不是醫療建議。急救基本知識

注意安全

絕對不要碰、抓或捉弄野生動物，就算是很小的動物，就算牠看起來在睡覺或已經死了也一樣。
給牠空間。如果遇到了，保持冷靜，慢慢往後退，讓牠自己離開。
如果被牠螫了：保持冷靜，保持不動，打緊急電話（112、000、911）或趕快去醫院。記住牠的樣子，有照片會很有幫助。

牠不是想來抓你。牠用毒液來捕捉食物或保護自己，而且牠更想躲起來。更多安全知識

在世界上的哪裡？

非洲亞洲歐洲北美洲南美洲澳洲與大洋洲

牠有多大？

牠有多長？

小到可以坐在你的指甲上

European fire ant 跟「你」比起來有多大？

只是在你的瀏覽器裡做算術。什麼都不會儲存，也不會傳送到任何地方。

牠有多快？

一隻花園蝸牛 大約 0,05 km/h (0,03 mph)

European fire ant 大約 0,11 km/h (0,07 mph)

一隻陸龜 大約 0,3 km/h (0,19 mph)

值得知道

小知識

Colonies can have up to one hundred queens in a single nest.1

Queens can live up to fifteen years.1

Workers pick up dead nest-mates and carry them up to 3 metres away from the nest.1

The larvae of the Alcon blue and scarce large blue butterflies use this ant as their main host.1

Nuptial flights in Europe usually take place from late July to mid-August, when hundreds of young queens and males fly to mate. The males die afterwards, and the queens shed their wings to start new colonies.1

破解迷思

迷思： The smaller queens, once thought to be a separate social parasite called M. microrubra, are a different species.

真相： More recent DNA analysis shows they share a gene pool with the regular queens, so they are not a different species. They are a smaller queen caste (microgynes) that can also found their own colonies.1

給毒液專家

學名: Myrmica rubra
類群: 螞蟻
家人: Formicidae2
排序: Hymenoptera
各大洲: 歐洲, 亞洲
寶寶: Queens gather together after their nuptial flight, form a nest and lay their eggs in it.1
壽命: 大約 15 年1
對人的危險: 2 / 5: 疼痛3