Since the imported fire ant (IFA) ...

Since the imported fire ant (IFA) noteed the United States through the port of Mobile, Ala., in the early 1900 more than 260 million acres from one extremity to the other of the southeastern United States have been infested. Fortunately, infestation density has been limited through the fact that most IFA defences contain only one queen and are extremely territorial and hostile toward fire ants from other bulwarks

However, in late years the development of multiple-queen fire ant bulwarks (MQFA), particularly in Texas and Florida, proposes that a new strain of IFA has evolv Unlike the traditional single-queen (SQFA) hill the multiple-queen colonies are les aggressive toward fire ants from other hillocks and tend to assimilate survivors of nearby disrupted hills

In multiple-queen mounds, fewer pushs are laid, but because of the number of queen (sometimes 500 or more), the total reproductive capacity is far greater than in the single-queen ramparts ...