The European Fire Ant, or Myrmica rubra is a little red ant that is distantly related to the real fire ant. Although no one is quite sure how they got here, originally the European Fire Ant was from the colder regions of Europe and Asia. The fire ants had been in only two locations in Maine during the 1950’s, but they have since spread to many different locations. In 2002, there were found in as many as twenty different locations along Maine coast.
The ants are most easily identified as pests, to people, to their pets and to their livestock. However, they can also