USDA Federal ResearchARS · CMAVE · NOAA — Fire ant science data connectedUSDA ARS Imported Fire Ant & Household Insects Research Unit · Gainesville, FL
One Farmer. One Stack.
SF10-S · Fire Ant Science · Patent Pending US 63/970,943
🐜 Fire Ant Science
Colony density risk modeling, climate range expansion tracking, nitrogen fixation loss quantification, and phorid fly biocontrol effectiveness — powered by USDA ARS fire ant research from Gainesville, FL.
SF10-S.001 Colony Density Risk ModelSF10-S.002 Climate Range ExpansionSF10-S.003 Nitrogen Fixation LossSF10-S.004 Phorid Fly Biocontrol
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Fetch ARS & NOAA DataLoad colony benchmarks & climate normals
🐜USDA ARS & NOAA LIVE DATASelect source → auto-populate calculators
Fetch one source or load all at once
ARS benchmarks: not loaded|Climate normals: not loaded|Range gap: pending✓ All sources loaded — ready to calculate
🐜 USDA-ARS Benchmarks
🌡 NOAA Climate Normals
⚖ Range Expansion Gap
🐜 USDA-ARS — Imported Fire Ant Research Benchmarks
USDA-ARS Imported Fire Ant & Household Insects Research Unit (Gainesville, FL) colony density benchmarks by habitat type and phorid fly biocontrol efficacy data. Auto-populates colony density (SF10-S.001, S.003) and phorid fly release density (SF10-S.004).
Select habitat type and region to load USDA-ARS fire ant benchmarks.
NOAA 30-year climate normals for January minimum temperature and annual freeze days by latitude band. Auto-populates avg January low and freeze days in the Climate Range Expansion calculator (SF10-S.002).
Select latitude band to load NOAA 30-year winter temperature normals.
Compares current infestation latitude against the projected northern invasion limit (40°N) based on winter kill thresholds. Requires ARS colony data and NOAA climate normals loaded for full analysis.
Load ARS and Climate data first, then click Build Gap Analysis.
Tip: Use the winter kill probability output to set realistic colony survival rates in SF10-S.002 Climate Range Expansion calculator.
🗺️ Colony Density Risk Model
SF10-S.001 · USDA ARS CMAVE, Gainesville, FL
Quantify fire ant colony density relative to established damage thresholds. Uses USDA ARS population-yield relationship models for southeastern US agroecosystems.
Standard survey: 1-acre transect (USDA ARS protocol)
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Research Source: Vander Meer et al. — USDA ARS CMAVE, Gainesville, FL · Drees et al. (1992) Economic threshold determination for fire ant management.
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🌡️ Climate Range Expansion Tracker
SF10-S.002 · Morrison et al. — USDA ARS
Model northward and westward range expansion risk for Solenopsis invicta based on temperature thresholds, winter survival limits, and projected climate data.
Current range core: 25–35°N | Expansion zone: 35–40°N
Critical threshold: 10°F kills exposed colonies
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Research Source: Morrison et al. — USDA ARS projected range expansion under climate change · Korzukhin et al. (2001) Temperature effects · Vander Meer et al., ARS Gainesville, FL.
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🌱 Nitrogen Fixation Loss Calculator
SF10-S.003 · Zettler et al. (2002) · USDA ARS
Quantify disruption to legume symbiotic nitrogen fixation caused by fire ant foraging on nodule-containing roots. Calculates N-fixation loss and equivalent fertilizer replacement cost.
Fire ants disrupt 10–30% of nodules at 40 col/acre (USDA ARS data)
Urea equivalent: ~$0.45–0.70/lb N current market
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Research Source: Vander Meer et al. — USDA ARS CMAVE, Gainesville, FL · Zettler et al. (2002) Effects of red imported fire ant on soybean nodulation and nitrogen fixation.
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🦟 Phorid Fly Biocontrol Effectiveness
SF10-S.004 · Vogt et al. · Porter et al. (2004) — USDA ARS
Model the efficacy and colony suppression rate of Pseudacteon phorid fly biological control programs. Based on USDA ARS release protocols and long-term field study data from Gainesville, FL.
Efficacy from USDA ARS long-term field studies
USDA ARS standard: 50–200 flies/acre per release event
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Research Source: Vogt et al. — USDA ARS CMAVE, Gainesville, FL · Porter et al. (2004) Pseudacteon phorid flies: host specificity and establishment in the US · Morrison & Porter (2005) Long-term biocontrol field studies.
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For Producers & Agronomists
Science-backed. Field-ready.
✓ USDA ARS colony density economic thresholds ✓ Climate range expansion risk modeling ✓ Nitrogen fixation loss quantification ✓ Pseudacteon phorid fly biocontrol data ✓ USDA Priority 3 — Invasive species protection