Why are fire ants red?

Answer 1

Fire ants have red on their heads and at least part of their bodies. The red color is common in biting ants with venom, and is not limited to fire ants. The color is thought to serve as a warning to other species that these insects are dangerous.

Answer 2

Mexican and Mexican American migrant farm workers expected conditions like those pictured above as they sought farm work in California and other states in the early 1900s. At that time, the Mexican Revolution and the series of Mexican civil wars that followed pushed many Mexicans to flee to the United States. Many U.S. farm owners recruited Mexicans and Mexican Americans because they believed that these desperate workers would tolerate living conditions that workers of other races would not.

Mexican and Mexican American workers often earned more in the United States than they could in Mexico's civil war economy, although California farmers paid Mexican and Mexican American workers significantly less than white American workers. By the 1920s, at least three quarters of California's 200,000 farm workers were Mexican or Mexican American.

As this rapid shift of Mexico's working population occurred, the first labor agreement between the United States and Mexico was formed. Mexico required that U.S. farm owners provide legal contracts for all Mexican workers guaranteeing conditions such as wages and work schedules. The U.S. government, in turn, enforced the border between the United States and Mexico, checking that all Mexican immigrants had the proper work contract so they would not be exploited.

Answer 3

Technically it's not a "bite" but a "sting". Some ants do bite (and spray acid into the wound), but fire ants sting, and inject a compound called solenopsin, which is somewhat related to the compound pipirine, which is what makes black pepper taste "hot". This irritates the wound and causes the burning sensation.

Answer 4

Assuming you mean the burning sensation when you accidentally crush one in your mouth, it probably burns because of the formic acid that ants produce for their stings.