Fire ant image library

Download high-quality fire ant photos and videos to help raise awareness and support eradication efforts.

Fire ants crawling over a silver key lying in loose soil.
Use approved images to help raise fire ant awareness.

Copyright

Do you have a website, social media channel, newsletter or print publication, and want to share fire ant-related messaging?

You can download and use our high-quality photos or videos freely with the following credit.

Photo/video credit: National Fire Ant Eradication Program

Fire ant facts

Fire ants are smart, highly adaptive and can survive in a range of climates.

Below are key facts about fire ants to complement your chosen image or video:

  • Fire ants are copper brown in colour with a darker abdomen and measure 2–6 mm in size. Fire ants appear in a variety of sizes in one nest, making them easy to identify against other ant species.
  • Fire ant nests appear as mounds or flat patches of loose soil with no obvious entry and exit holes.
  • Fire ant nests are usually found in open areas such as lawns, garden beds, near water sources, along roadsides and in newly developed areas with disturbed soil.
  • One fire ant nest that goes undetected can multiply and spread, putting an entire community at risk.
  • Fire ants can be reported anytime at fireants.org.au or by calling 132 ANT (13 22 68). Take a photo of the nest and ants and report within 24 hours.
  • Fire ants spread by travelling over and underground, flying up to 5 km, rafting on waterways after floods and hitchhiking in organic materials moved by people.
  • Fire ants have a painful sting that can cause severe and potentially fatal allergic reactions in humans and animals.
  • Fire ants are a destructive pest that can severely impact our way of life and living in the great outdoors. They can destroy crops, damage electrical equipment, kill pets and livestock, damage native ecosystems and render parks, playgrounds and backyards unusable.
  • We must work together to fight fire ants, if they win it will cost the Australian economy $2 billion per year, forever.

Images

Fire ants

Close-up of a red imported fire ant showing body shape and stinger.
Great for identification—shows key features of a fire ant up close.

Extreme close-up of fire ant—landscape image (3473 x 2480 pixels)

JPG, 5.99MB

Single fire ant walking across sandy soil.
Shows how hard fire ants can be to spot in light, sandy soils.

Fire ant on sand—landscape image (2888 x 1925 pixels)

JPG, 2.63MB

Fire ants crawling on a metal key in loose soil.
Shows scale and how easily fire ants can be overlooked.

Various sizes of fire ants on key—landscape image (4896 x 3264 pixels)

JPG, 8.66MB

Fire ants crawling on a ten-cent coin, one shown enlarged under magnification.
Shows how small and hard to spot fire ants can be.

Various sizes of fire ants on 10 cent coin—landscape image (2258 x 1572 pixels)

JPG, 0.98MB

Fire ant nest material with visible workers, white larvae and alates.
Shows workers and alates inside a disturbed fire ant nest.

Fire ant workers and alates—landscape image (2592 x 1728 pixels)

JPG, 3.65MB

Fire ants swarming and attacking a dead insect on a blue surface with white granules.
Shows the aggressive behaviour of fire ants when disturbed.

Fire ants attacking an insect—landscape image (4032 x 3024 pixels)

JPG, 2.05MB

Fire ants crawling over soil and partially eaten green crop stems.
Shows how fire ants can damage crops and affect agricultural production.

Fire ants eating crops—landscape image (2592 x 1728 pixels)

JPG, 1.93MB

Fire ant nests

Immature fire ant nest with loose soil and sparse grass on disturbed ground.
Shows fire ant nests before they form visible mounds.

Immature fire ant nest—landscape image (3072 x 2048 pixels)

JPG, 1.90MB

Fire ant nest built in mulch near the base of ornamental garden plants.
Shows where fire ants often establish—in the garden.

Large nest in a garden bed—landscape image (3968 x 2976 pixels)

JPG, 2.77MB

Fire ant nest built beside a water meter cover in overgrown grass.
Shows how fire ants build nests around hidden or rarely disturbed items.

Fire ant nest in water meter box—landscape image (3968 x 2976 pixels)

JPG, 5.64MB

Fire ant nest beside a concrete footpath on the edge of grass and mulch.
Shows how fire ant nests can form in everyday urban spaces.

Small fire ant nest next to a footpath—landscape (2592 x 1728 pixels)

JPG, 2.45MB

Fire ant nest at the base of a brick letterbox surrounded by grass.
Shows how fire ants build nests close to homes.

Fire ant nest against a letterbox—landscape image (3968 x 2976 pixels)

JPG, 3.58MB

Multiple fire ant nests scattered across a grassy rural paddock.
Shows the impact of infestations with images of multiple nests.

Multiple fire ant nests on a rural property—landscape image (4000 x 3000 pixels)

JPG, 4.00MB

Fire ant nest in front of a round hay bale on grass.
Shows how fire ants can nest in or near hay bales.

Fire ant nest at the base of a hay bale—landscape image (4000 x 3000 pixels)

JPG, 3.15MB

Diagram of a fire ant nest showing mound, nest chamber and underground tunnels.
Use this graphic to show what lies beneath a fire ant nest.

Diagram of fire ant nest structure—landscape graphic (4000 x 3000 pixels)

JPG, 662KB

Videos

Poking a fire ant nest with a metal stick—landscape video

Run time—01:28 (this video has no sound)

Video format—MP4, 74.5MB

Swarming fire ants, alates and brood—landscape video

Run time—00:24 (this video has no sound)

Video format—MP4, 45.8MB

Fire ants attacking green ants—portrait video

Run time—00:27 (this video has no sound)

Video format—MP4, 64.9MB

Fire ant training

Fire ant training

Take a free, self-paced course to learn about fire ants. See how to identify, treat, and manage them.

Find out more
Factsheets

Factsheets

Get clear, print-friendly resources on fire ants. Learn how to reduce the risk of spreading them.

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Resources

Resources

Find materials to help raise awareness and stop fire ants. Share campaign tools with your community.

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