Ant colonies can grow to contain more than 10,000 members, and some can even branch into super-colonies wherein multiple nests and colonies cooperate. Ants are known to be very social insects. They live in colonies with a leader queen ant as well as worker ants. In fact, most ant species contain four different types of ants: the queen, drones, female workers, and reproductives. The average lifespan of an ant colony varies—fire ant colonies, for example, can live up to seven years! The larger the ant mound, the more mature and large the colony within.