Fire ant queens. Even if only one queen survives, within a month or so, the colony can expand to thousands of individuals. Some colonies may be polygynous (having multiple queens per nest). Fire ants are resilient and can survive floods. During Hurricane Harvey in Texas in 2017, clumps of fire ants, known as rafts, were seen clumped together on the surface of the water. Each clump had as many as 100,000 individual ants, which formed a temporary structure until finding a new permanent home. Fire ant queens, the reproductive females in their colony, also are generally the largest. Their primary function is
Red imported fire ant occurred in 1957 when the United States Congress authorised an eradication program using federal and state funding. Research on the ant and its biology has been continuous after the establishment of an eradication program, and many chemicals were used to eliminate them. However, scientists discovered that these insecticides were killing native fauna, and the Environmental Protection Agency subsequently outlawed them. Some scientists even questioned whether the ants were pests or not. Today, it is unlikely that the red imported fire ant will be eradicated in areas such as the United States. Populations can be managed properly if an integrated approach