June is a special time for Solenopsis invicta, otherwise known as fire ants. Following a heavy rainfall, the sky fills with these creatures for a unique event known as the nuptial flight. This is a day of romance for the lucky male and female ants, as thousands of reproduction-capable ants, called alates, take flight for the first and last time. However, even for the successful males who manage to avoid winged predators, this mating frenzy proves lethal.
For a successfully mated female, her work is only beginning. Having secured a lifetime supply of sperm from her departed mate, the new queen must single-handedly start an entire colony. Descending to the ground, she searches for a suitable spot to build her nest, ideally somewhere with loose, easy-to-dig soil, like farmland already disturbed by human activity. Once she finds the perfect spot, she breaks off her wings, creating the stubs that establish her royal status. She then starts digging a descending tunnel ending in a chamber where she begins laying her eggs, about ten per day.
The first larvae hatch within a week and over the next three weeks, the new queen relies on a separate batch of unfertilized eggs to nourish both herself and her brood, losing half her body weight in the process. Thankfully, after about 20 days, these larvae grow into the first generation of workers, ready to forage for food and sustain their shrunken queen. The workers must act quickly though, as returning their mother to good health is urgent. In the surrounding area, dozens of neighboring queens are building their own ant armies. These colonies have peacefully coexisted so far, but once workers appear, a phenomenon known as brood-raiding begins.
Workers from nests up to several meters away begin to steal offspring from our queen. Our colony retaliates, but new waves of raiders from even further away overwhelm the workers. Within hours, the raiders have taken our queen’s entire brood supply to the largest nearby nest, and the queen’s surviving daughters abandon her. In a last chance of survival, the queen follows the raiding trail to the winning nest. She fends off other losing queens and the defending nest’s workers, fighting her way to the top of the brood pile. Her daughters help their mother succeed where other queens fail, defeating the reigning monarch, and usurping the brood pile.
Eventually, all the remaining challengers fail, until only one queen and one brood pile remains. Now presiding over several hundred workers in the neighborhood’s largest nest, our victorious queen begins aiding her colony in its primary goal: reproduction. For the next several years, the colony only produces sterile workers. But once their population exceeds about 23,000, it changes course. From now on, every spring, the colony will produce fertile alate males and females. The colony spawns these larger ants throughout the early summer, and returns to worker production in the fall.
After heavy rainfalls, these alates take to the skies, and spread their queen’s genes up to a couple hundred meters downwind. But to contribute to this annual mating frenzy, the colony must continue to thrive as one massive super-organism. Every day, younger ants feed the queen and tend to the brood, while older workers forage for food and defend the nest. When intruders strike, these older warriors fend them off using poisonous venom. After rainfalls, the colony comes together, using the wet dirt to expand their nest. And when a disastrous flood drowns their home, the sisters band together into a massive living raft, carrying their queen to safety.
But no matter how resilient, the life of a colony must come to an end. After about 8 years, our queen runs out of sperm and can no longer replace dying workers. The nest’s population dwindles, and eventually, they’re taken over by a neighboring colony. Our queen’s reign is over, but her genetic legacy lives on.
Draw a detailed diagram of the fire ant life cycle. Include the stages from the nuptial flight to the end of the colony. Label each stage and write a brief description of what happens during that stage. Use colors and illustrations to make your diagram engaging.
Imagine you are the queen ant. Write a diary entry describing your experiences from the nuptial flight to establishing your colony. Include details about finding a nesting site, laying eggs, and dealing with brood-raiding. Be creative and expressive in your writing.
In groups, role-play the different roles within a fire ant colony. Assign roles such as the queen, workers, and raiders. Act out the daily activities and challenges faced by the colony, including foraging for food, defending the nest, and expanding the colony. Discuss how each role contributes to the survival of the colony.
Using materials like clay, cardboard, and paper, build a 3D model of an ant nest. Include tunnels, chambers, and the queen’s chamber. Label different parts of the nest and explain their functions. Present your model to the class and describe how the nest supports the colony’s activities.
Research how fire ants defend their colony from predators and other threats. Create a presentation that includes information on their use of venom, teamwork, and other defense strategies. Include images, diagrams, and examples. Present your findings to the class and explain how these mechanisms help the colony survive.
nuptial flight – The event where reproductive ants, both males and females, leave their nest to mate and start new colonies. – During the nuptial flight, thousands of winged ants can be seen swarming in the air, searching for a mate and a new place to establish their own colony.
fire ants – A species of aggressive ants known for their painful stings, characterized by their reddish-brown coloration. – Be careful when walking barefoot in the grass as fire ants are known to build their nests there and their stings can be quite painful.
reproduction-capable ants – The female ants within a colony that are sexually mature and capable of mating to reproduce. – The reproduction-capable ants are the future queens of the colony and play a vital role in the establishment of new colonies.
alates – The winged reproductive ants, both males and females, that are produced by a mature colony and take part in the nuptial flight. – The alates emerge from the nest in large numbers during the spring, signaling the beginning of the nuptial flight season.
mating frenzy – A period of intense mating activity among ants during the nuptial flight, where males compete to mate with the available females. – The mating frenzy can be observed as a chaotic scene in the air, with males desperately trying to catch and mate with the flying females.
new colony – A group of ants that has recently established a nest and is in the early stages of building its population and expanding its territory. – The new colony is still vulnerable and relies on the cooperation of its members to ensure its survival and growth.
suitable spot – An area or location that provides the necessary conditions and resources for ants to establish a nest or colony. – The ants carefully search for a suitable spot with access to food, water, and protection from predators to build their new colony.
loose soil – Soil that is not compacted or tightly packed, often preferred by ants for digging and constructing their nests. – The ants excavate their tunnels and chambers in loose soil, creating a complex network of underground passages.
brood-raiding – A behavior in which ants from one colony invade another colony to steal the eggs, larvae, or pupae for their own colony’s benefit. – The aggressive ants conducted a successful brood-raiding operation, carrying away the young brood of the rival colony to strengthen their own population.
victorious queen – The female ant that successfully mates and establishes a new colony, becoming the reproductive leader and future mother of the colony. – The victorious queen proudly takes her place in the center of the newly established colony, ready to lay eggs and ensure the colony’s growth.
