Two species of fire ants are found in Florida. Most notorious is Solenopsis invicta Buren, the red imported fire ant (RIFA), followed by the much less common Solenopsis geminata (Fabricius), the tropical or native fire ant.
Leaf curl is a plant disease characterized by curling of leaves, and caused by a fungus, genus Taphrina, or virus, especially genus Begomovirus of the family Geminiviridae.
Environmental stress from bouts of cool rainy weather, herbicide damage, severe pruning, sucking insects and viruses tend to cause tomato leaves to curl. Yo-yo watering and severe pruning may cause a tomato plant temporarily to develop thick, leathery leaves that curl upwards. In this case, the plant shows no effects on flowering, fruiting or growth. The plant should re-adjust within the week. <br /><br /><b>Herbicide damage</b>, particularly from <b>2,4-D</b>, may cause tomato leaves to curl first downwards and then upwards. In this case, the plant may show such effects as cat-faced fruit, stunted growth and twisted leaves.