In areas it is native to, the red imported fire ant is still a dominant species and coexists with 28 ant species in gallery forest gaps and ten species in xerophytic forest grassland, winning most aggressive interactions with other ants. However, some ants can be co-dominant in areas where they coexist such as the Argentine ant, where they compete symmetrically. Workers regularly engage in food competition with other ants, and can suppress the exploitation of food resources from honeydew-producing hemipterans (specifically from "Phenacoccus solenopsis") from native ants; however, red imported fire ants are unable to eliminate "T. melanocephalum" completely although they consume a higher proportion of food. Instead, the two ants may peacefully coexist and share the honeydew. When encountering neighboring fire ants, workers may take on death-feigning behaviours to avoid them with success. However, such behaviour is only seen in young workers, as older workers either flee or fight back when threatened.