nts can be major pests. Carpenter ants make their nests in wood, including houses, and several ant species come into houses looking for food. In the tropics leaf-cutter ants attack crops in the fields. Some stinging ants can be dangerous to people. Recently an ant species from South America was accidentally brought to the southern United States. It is called the Imported Fire Ant, and it makes large nests with thousands of stinging defenders.