Food Web and Food Chain
Fire ant attacking a sugar cane borer. Photo by Billy Fuller.
Few insects prey on fire ants, so they are not an important part of the food web. Although dragonflies may eat a few winged fire ants as they leave their mounds and armadillos may eat a few of the developing brood inside of the mound, the ants themselves are not an important food for other animals.
In the insect food chain, however, fire ants are at the top: They prey on all types of insects and smaller organisms.
Red imported fire ant workers attacking a pink bollworm. Photo by W. Sterling
Learning Activities
Fire ants eating a mole cricket. Photo courtesy Dale Pollet.
