The fire ants are some of the most commonly seen ants in the world, having colonies on almost every landmass in the world. The key to their success? Their voracious appetite. As a species that is able to have multiple queens in a single nest, each queen in the colony lays up to 1,600 eggs everyday but only live between 2-6 years. Although the queens may not live very long, young queens who have mated will compete with each other in order to take the now vacant position.
This huge growing population requires tons of food everyday so, in response, the ants continue foraging for food during the coldest times — winter. They don’t hibernate and can survive a wide range of temperatures. Their method of hunting for food is simple: swarm their prey with as many as possible. Their diet can range from drops of sweet nectar to small rodents and is only bounded by the size of the colony.