Biologists often use only the capitalized first letter of the genus while writing the scientific name of a species. Therefore, Solenopsis tenuis is shortened to S. tenuis. This species is native to the Brazilian Amazon and some areas of Peru and Guyana. S. virulens is a similar species, featuring yellowish to tan bodies. Sometimes, the surname of the scientist who first described the species follows the binomial name in brackets, with the year of the discovery. Smith first described S. virulens in 1858, so the species can be represented as Solenopsis virulens (Smith, 1858).
Commonly found in restricted areas of northeast and central Brazil, S. tridens (Forel, 1911) and S. substituta (Santschi, 1925) are agricultural plagues, which attack several food crops in Brazil. Species in this group show copper to brown bodies and heads, with a dark brown body, measuring about 0.15 inches in length.
S. geminata (Fabricius, 1804) is a species found in the southern United States, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. Commonly known as the tropical red fire ant, S. geminata is aggressive and has a painful sting. Other species in this group include S.amblychila (Wheeler, 1915), S. xyloni (McCook, 1879) or Southern fire ant, S. aurea (Wheeler, 1906) and S. bruesi (Creighton, 1930).
The Solenopsis saevissima species group includes 13 fire ant species. The red imported fire ant (S. invicta), an invasive species in the United States, is part of this group. Native to Brazil, S. saevissima (Smith, 1855) workers can have trapezoidal and ovate heads, with long antennae. Scientific names, which are in Greek or Latin languages, often refer to attributes and characteristics of the species. The word "saevissima" comes from the Latin for "very cruel," a reference to the species' aggressive behavior. Scientific names may also reference people's surnames or the place where the species was first found.