The colony structure and population biology of invasive ants

*[Many invasive ants share a suite of characteristics that facilitate their introduction, establishment, & subsequent range expansion. One feature of particular importance isthe ability to form numerically large, ecologically dominant colonies. Authors review the population biology of invasive ants, focusing on the role of sociality & colony structure in their success. Specifically, they considered different hypotheses that have been proposed for the observed transitions in social structure of the 2 most well-studied ant invaders, the Argentine ant, Linepithema humile, & the red imported fire ant,Solenopsis invicta. In both species, genetic changes during or subsequent to introduction have led to alterations in social behavior & colony structure; these, in turn, have promoted the invasive success of introduced populations. Although many other invasive ant species appear to have similar forms of social organization, little is known about the basic population biology of these species.]