Fire ants are southern. They are not red ants. All ants can sting, especially one trapped inside clothing.

Are there ants that are red in color that are not fire ants? she just described it as a red ant, and i was surprised. I always thought(mistakenly?) that red ants were fire ants, which were southern ants.

There are MANY ant species that are red in color. Fire ants are part red, I guess. The important things to remember are that nearly ALL worker ants will sting, and that there are no fire ants in residence in NY!

I grew up in NYS and vividly recall red ants, black ants, and brown ants. I also remember their little stings!

Rhizo is mistaken. Not all ants can sting. Few in the modern age have stingers like bees do. They will defend themselves and their sisters by biting if they have mandibles big enough however. Most are to small for this.

Leave them alone and they will leave you alone -- most of the time.

Was it big or small?

Many red ants are very large and live in rotted wood much like Carpenter Ants. Was it a large red ant?

The moderately sized ones that you see most absconding back to their nest with other ants' pupa are harmless to humans.

Many people fear them needlessly.

Rhizo, I think you are an expert on insects and I believe you when you say fire ants are in the southern US only. However, in northern Michigan we have a red and black ant, also called "fire ants" which live in colonies in sandy soil with many openings. They are very aggressive and can sting painfully.

I believe the head and thorax are red and the abdomen is black. I have had these ants have colonies in our yard as a kid for many years in a row, and I have tested the hypothesis that they do sting.

I doubt they are related the "fire ants" of the south but these northern ones do sting en masse without provocation.

I totally believe you about your ants. Many ant species will sting and all can bite, some painfully. There are probably over a hundred ant species in Michigan so that's a wide variety of ant behaviors to observe (and watch out for)!

The (real) fire ant IS establishing itself further North, and has learned to overwinter near warm buildings and other locations where the cold temperatures won't kill them out. But I doubt that there have been any established in your neck o the woods. Knock on wood. ;-)

I, too, know that there are a bunch of ants to watch out for in 'Yankeeland', but don't recall from my childhood any that behaved quite like the fire ant. Yikes, that would have put a damper in my sandbox activities for sure!!