Mortality of red imported fire ants, Solenopsis invicta, caused by castor seeds, Rincinus communis.

Red imported fire ants, Solenopsis invicta Buren (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), from different colonies were fed castor seeds as a sole food source. Soybean seeds or honey and water were used as control food treatments. Regardless of the form of castor seeds, red imported fire ants were killed. Furthermore, the possibility of genetic predisposition by individual colonies was not evident as a factor of death.