Why Fire Ants Build Mounds

Workers build mounds by tunneling through the soil to form a maze of tunnels. They pile the excavated soil immediately above the soil line and form tunnels in this soil as well. This results in an above ground mound that can collect warmth from the sun and provide drier conditions and an underground series of galleries that provide cooler, moister conditions. Fire ants use this to their advantage by continually moving brood to the area of the nest that provides the most suitable environment. During cool wet periods this may be the above ground portion of the nest, while during hot dry periods the brood and the majority of the colony members will remain in the deeper underground galleries.

The height and visibility of fire ant mounds varies with weather and temperature. During cool wet periods the workers will build the mound high above the soil, so they can keep the brood warm and dry. During hot dry periods they tend to stay deeper in the soil, so they can keep the brood cool and moist, and even large colonies may not be visible above the grass.

Normally, there are no external openings in the top of the mound. Foraging ants enter and exit the nest through an array of foraging tunnels that are located slightly below the soil surface and extend in all directions from the mound. These forage tunnels eventually exit to the soil surface several feet away from the nest.

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