Abstract
Sexuals collected from nests of the fire ant, Solenopsis geminata (F.), the red imported fire ant, S. invicta Buren, and S. pergandei Forel in the Apalachicola National Forest were parasitized occasionally by a large mermithid nematode. Summer infection rates (1991–1993) varied by species and sex: 0% for S. invicta gynes, between 1 and 7% for S. pergandei gynes and males of all 3 species, and 16% for S. geminata gynes. The seasonality of infection coincided with the summer reproductive period of S. geminata and suggests the mermithid has an annual life cycle. The parasites, up to 15.5 cm in length, distend the abdomen of the host, but have little anatomical effect other than detracting from sex organ development. Mermithisized ants do not participate in mating flights and die when the parasites emerge. The mermithids emerge as sexually immature larvae, precluding their identification or taxonomic description. A mermithid this large has not been reported previously in Solenopsis . Currently, there is no record of mermithid parasitism in S. invicta and S. pergandei nor have mermithisized sexuals been reported in the genus.
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