Queen Dispersal Strategies in the Multiple‐Queen Form of the Fire Ant Solenopsis invicta

@article{Deheer1999QueenDS,
  title={Queen Dispersal Strategies in the Multiple‐Queen Form of the Fire Ant Solenopsis invicta},
  author={Christopher J. Deheer and Michael A. D. Goodisman and Kenneth G. Ross},
  journal={The American Naturalist},
  year={1999},
  volume={153},
  pages={660 - 675}
}
Newly produced queens in the multiple‐queen (polygyne) form of the fire ant Solenopsis invicta show dramatic variation in dispersal patterns, and this variation is influenced by genotypic variation at a single locus associated with the genetic marker Gp‐9. Heavy, homozygous Gp‐9BB queens exhibit the highest vagility among polygyne queens and are strongly attracted to the open, disturbed‐habitat patches that characteristically attract queens of the single‐queen (monogyne) form (all of which… 
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97 Citations

Unusual Behavior of Polygyne Fire Ant Queens on Nuptial Flights

Previously undescribed behavior of fire ant queens on their nuptial flights is reported, and it is suggested that the flying queens are sampling the local environment in order to select a suitable landing site that would contain established polygyne nests into which the queens may be adopted as new reproductives.

Distinct colony boundaries and larval discrimination in polygyne red imported fire ants (Solenopsis invicta)

This study examines nestmate discrimination and colony boundaries in introduced populations of the red imported fire ant and highlights the importance of combining genetic analyses with direct quantification of resource exchange to better understand the factors influencing ant invasions.

Selective Male Mortality in the Red Imported Fire Ant, Solenopsis invicta

The bb genotype, rather than an obligate, developmental lethal, was present in some queens and common in alates, workers, and brood, suggesting some frequency of multiple mating in polygyne populations of Solenopsis invicta.

Simple inheritance, complex regulation: Supergene‐mediated fire ant queen polymorphism

The distinctive supergene‐associated gene expression trajectories recorded at the onset of a queen’s reproductive life expand the known record of relevant molecular correlates of a complex social polymorphism and point to putative genetic factors underpinning the alternate social syndromes.

Experimental Conversion of Colony Social Organization in Fire Ants (Solenopsis invicta): Worker Genotype Manipulation in the Absence of Queen Effects

The results support the conclusion that polygyny in S. invicta is induced by a minimum frequency of colony workers carrying the b allele, and confirm that its expression is independent of queen genotype or history, worker genotypes at genes not linked to Gp-9, and colony genetic diversity.

A comparison of the colony-founding potential of queens from single- and multiple-queen colonies of the fire antSolenopsis invicta

Results are concordant with the growing body of work that implicates a simply inherited genetic polymorphism for the control of a complex social trait in this ant, and they indicate that the modes of reproduction in polygyne fire ants may show considerable diversity.

RESTRICTED EFFECTIVE QUEEN DISPERSAL AT A MICROGEOGRAPHIC SCALE IN POLYGYNOUS POPULATIONS OF THE ANT FORMICA EXSECTA

Investigation of the microgeographic genetic structure of mitochondrial haplotypes in polygynous populations of the ant Formica exsecta shows that effective queen dispersal is extremely restricted even at a small geographical scale, consistent with the idea that ecological constraints are an important selective force leading to the evolution and maintenance of polygyny.

Population Genetics of the Invasive Fire Ant Solenopsis invicta (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the United States

Bayesian analyses showed that study populations most distant from the claimed site of entry, Mobile, AL, have diverged most from the hypothetical founder population, consistent with an invasion scenario in which the ants spread outward from Mobile through repeated subfounder events.

A New Method for Distinguishing Colony Social Forms of the Fire Ant, Solenopsis invicta

New molecular assays consistently and accurately identify the variable nucleotides at all three sites characteristic of the B-like and b-like Gp-9 allele classes, allowing for accurate determination of colony social form in the fire ant Solenopsis invicta Buren.

Genetic and morphological variation over space and time in the invasive fire ant Solenopsis invicta

Social insects are among the most successful and damaging of invasive taxa. We studied spatial and temporal variation in two traits, colony genetic structure and worker mass, associated with social…
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