Fire Ant

Fire ants are creatures living in the Capital Wasteland in 2277, and in the Mojave Wasteland in 2281. They are a variation of giant ants that have been genetically modified. Their name comes from their ability to breathe fire.

Background
 The fire ants of the Capital Wasteland were created by a scientist named Doctor Lesko. The doctor was attempting to return giant ants to their normal size through genetic manipulation and accidentally created the fire ants. Dr. Lesko's ambition was to make the ants exponentially smaller through generations, meaning the offspring are born smaller than their parents for generations to come. But as he reasons, one small tweak of an error has left the ants with a completely different mutation. The fact that Lesko used F.E.V. in his experiments in order to produce a quicker result may also help explain the "error." Lesko further explains in very technical terms that the ants breathe fire by expelling flammable venom from what was their venom sacks, then igniting it with a spark made by clicking their mandibles. He calls this process "pyrosis" which is the medical term for heartburn.

It is not known how fire ants came to be in the Mojave Wasteland, but theories are that their ability to breathe fire has been developed in the same way as the similar ability of fire geckos.

Fire ant nest guardian


Fire ant nest guardians are much harder to kill than any other type of fire ant. There are five of these kinds of ant protecting the queen. Doctor Lesko refers to these ants as the queen's "quintet of Nest Guardians."

Fire ant soldier


Fire ant soldiers are the second-lowest ranked ant in the fire ant colony. Their job is to protect their area from intruders. They are very aggressive and will attack humans, as well as other creatures on sight.

Fire ant warrior


Warrior fire ants are the predominant variety of ant encountered in the Marigold Metro tunnels in the Capital Wasteland.

Fire ant worker


Fire ant workers are the backbone of the ant community's infrastructure. As the name implies, they dig tunnels and care for the eggs. However, they will attack intruders if they are threatened.

Ant queen


Despite the fact that the rest of the colony has gained the ability to spit fire, the queen lacks this trait, it uses a ranged acid spitting attack instead.