Fire Ant (Fallout: New Vegas)

Fire ants are mutated insects found in the Mojave Wasteland in 2281.

Background
It is not known how exactly fire ants came to be in the Mojave Wasteland, but theories are noted and in fact are related to quests in Fallout 3. Others seem to suggest that their ability to breathe fire has been developed in a way similar to the fire gecko's ability.

Biology
Fire ants are large insects, covered in a reddish-brown carapace. They have large mandibles used for defending themselves as well as hunting. They also have the unusual ability to breathe fire.

Gameplay attributes
These insects can be a bit of a problem in early parts of the game, especially for lower level characters. Hitting their antennae counts toward a critical hit and will also frenzy the ant. Fire ants use the same tactics as giant ants, swarming their foe. They are especially dangerous though, as they can also breathe fire. Fire and explosive based weapons are generally ineffective when dealing with them as they have a high fire resistance. They will sometimes ignore the player and only attack when provoked.

Fire ant queen
The fire ant queen (or giant ant queen) is the largest creature in the Mojave Wasteland. Only one ant queen appears in Fallout: New Vegas, located in the ant mound south of the Allied Technologies offices and Camp McCarran, or north-west of REPCONN headquarters.

Fire ant soldier
Fire ant soldiers (or soldier fire ants) are the larger and stronger of the two fire ant variants, this ant often accompanies the workers in foraging.

Fire ant worker
Fire ant workers (or worker fire ants) are the smaller and weaker of the two fire ant variants, these ants are responsible for gathering food and taking care of the young of the colony.

Locations

 * Ant Mound
 * El Dorado Dry Lake.

Appearances
Fire ants appear in Fallout: New Vegas.

Bugs

 * Occasionally, they will make a sound that suggest they're spitting fire, but there is no fire present.
 * Sometimes the queen will appear in the tunnels leading to her, rather than the large open room.
 * The death item list for the Ant Queen is meant to give ant queen pheromones and a random number of ant eggs, but does not have the "Use All" flag checked; this results in the list instead giving out only one of the listed items, equating to an approximate 8% chance of receiving pheromones and less than a 20% chance of receiving any ant eggs.