Busy

We found this abandoned fire ant mound and enjoyed the opportunity to study our hard working friends!!
I'm amazed!

Fire ants are known for their size, shape, color and bite. These ants live in a colony with other ants to form a community. Fire ants build a community for the purposes of protecting the Queen, mating with the Queen and taking care of the Queen's offspring. The community is made up of three species of fire ants, including the Queen, males and workers. A fire ant community is built in what looks like a mound. This mound has tunnels and underground chambers where the ants store food, have nurseries and maintain chambers where mating takes place. Fire ants build their communities near rivers, ponds, watered lawns and anywhere moisture is present in the soil. The nests are usually not visible unless the area is an open space. Fire ants prefer to build their nests hidden from danger, under timber, logs, rocks and bricks. In open areas, a dome-shaped mound will be found as the community area.

Fire Ant Habitat
# U.S. Department of Agriculture, Wikimedia Commons
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Wikimedia Commons