Ant colonies change nest location in response to physical disturbance, climate fluctuation, and resource availability. During the emigration process, worker recruitment is vital to ensuring that individual colony members are moved to the new nest site. Recruitment methods used during emigration differ between ant species. In a laboratory study, we investigated the recruitment behaviors of the invasive Asian needle ant, Brachyponera (=Pachycondyla) chinensis (Emery), during nest emigration. Subsets of P. chinensis worker ants were subjected to physical nest disturbance, and the recruitment methods and associated behaviors were recorded. Before recruitment to the new nest location began, B. chinensis ants organized into three distinctive groups: queen-tending, brood-tending, and scouting. Once the new nest site was identified, scout ants began physically transporting nestmates into the new harborage. Transport rates increased with time in the first 30 minutes and did not change during the 30to 55 minute interval when brood was transported. However, adult transport rate increased again after brood transport was completed and decreased after 90 minutes. These studies are the first to identify the recruitment methods, division of labor, and social organization behavior of B. chinensis during nest emigration.
Prior to 2009, all reported red imported fire ant (RIFA), Solenopsis invicta Buren, infestations in Virginia were documented and managed by the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS). In spite of VDACS' best efforts however, RIFA infestations within the state continued to increase and spread. Therefore, in 2009 the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in conjunction with VDACS implemented the Imported Fire Ant Quarantine in the following areas of Virginia: the counties of James City and York, and the cities of Chesapeake,
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