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 mealybug ("Dysmicoccus morrisoni"). The ants promote the colony growth of "D. morrisoni" through protection, covering the colonies up with debris and collecting the honeydew they secrete. The toxicology of red imported fire ant venom has been relatively well studied. The venom is important to the ant, enabling it to capture its prey and to defend itself. Some 14 million people are stung annually in the United States , who may suffer reactions ranging from mild eczema to anaphylactic shock. Most common reactions to fire ant stings are a burning sensation at the sting site, followed by urticaria and pustule formation.