Fire ants are a dangerous, invasive species. They also make incredibly complex nests. David Gatlin found a way to get rid of ants nests and create beautiful art at the same time: he pours 1,400 ...

From an ecological standpoint, most ants are great—they aerate soil, clean up organic matter, and help to spread plant seeds. Fire ants, on the other hand… well, you probably already know.

Read about the other icons that have defined Texas since 1973. When Solenopsis invicta, a.k.a. the red imported fire ant, was first identified in East Texas, in the seventies, stakes were high.