and take off on their one and only 

 mating flight. 



When the mating flight is about to 

 occur, there is a marked increase in 

 activity in the colony. Workers 

 make holes in the surface of the 

 mound in several places. They run 

 around excitedly on the outside of the 

 mound and on nearby vegetation. 

 At intervals a male or a queen comes 

 out of the opening into the light. 



The males are smaller and blacker 

 than the queens. They take to flight 

 quickly, and directly from the mound 

 surface. The queens usually climb 

 on nearby plants and slowly lift their 

 bodies into the air. 



Once airborne, the ants fly out of 

 sight. The males die soon after 

 mating. The fertilized queens find 

 suitable nesting sites, cast off their 

 wings (which are of no further use 

 to them), and begin digging under- 

 ground chambers in which to lay 

 their eggs. 



Mounds 



Imported fire ants build mounds in 

 almost any kind of soil. Some col- 

 onies exist on sandy and marshy lands 

 near the Gulf of Mexico shoreline, 

 others in rich river -valley soils. 



Mounds are most common in open 

 areas such as cultivated fields, pas- 

 tures, parks, lawns, and meadows. 

 They are often found in rotting logs 

 and around pine stumps, and occa- 

 sionally under buildings. 



Wherever they are, the mounds 

 create special problems. In parks 

 and on lawns they mar the landscape 

 and cause annoyance. Children and 

 pets walk into them and get severely 

 stung. In fields they are unsightly 

 and cause damage. Blades of har- 

 vesting machines strike them and be- 

 come twisted. 



A typical mound develops when 

 the workers emerging from the 



queen's first brood begin enlarging 

 her underground chamber. As addi- 

 tional workers appear, they join 

 in the task until a mound is built to 

 accommodate the large ant popula- 

 tion. 



When completed, the structure has 

 a firm, honeycombed framework aver- 

 aging 15 inches in diameter and 10 

 inches in height. The living quar- 

 ters are subterranean galleries con- 

 structed within a V-shaped pattern 

 and extending 3 feet downward. 



On the outside, the mound appears 

 to be a solid mass of earth. But 

 after a heavy rain, workers can be 

 seen crawling out of several holes in 

 the surface to make repairs. When 

 the job is done, they quickly close 

 up the openings. 



Only the winged forms leave the 

 mound through openings in the sur- 

 face. Workers leave through tunnels 

 constructed just below the surface 

 soil. They emerge from these tun- 

 nels at various distances from the 

 mound and return the same way. 

 The ants also use these passageways 

 when they move to another location. 



Why do the ants move? The ac- 

 tion is generally prompted by condi- 

 tions and happenings such as the 

 following: 



1. A colony of ants locates a new 

 food source and builds a mound 

 around it. 



2. A disturbance to the original 

 mound causes the ants to vacate. 



3. The older mounds become too 

 big and unmanageable. 



4. Competition with other colonies 

 for food causes them to move. 



When it's time to move, the work- 

 ers take complete charge of the opera- 

 tion. They guide the other ants 

 through the underground tunnels. 

 They carry the eggs and immature 

 insects to the new location, which 

 may be 25 feet from the old one. 



After a mound is abandoned, the 

 rain soon levels it to the ground. 



