The evolution and maintenance of supercolony in the invasive Argentine ant

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The Argentine ant, Linepithema humile, is highly polygynous and possesses a social structure, called supercolony (SC). In this study, different populations widely distributed across the continent share the same haplotype, whereas small SCs are pettily distributed in the restricted areas. The genetic analysis suggested that gene flow among SCs is very limited, and SCs are closed reproductive units. Furthermore, the workers from small SC showed their escape behavior and whereas the workers from massive SC attacked the workers from other SCs in groups. Our findings suggested that a massive SC displace other SCs and form the huge colonies across the globe