Intraspecific variation in colony founding behavior and social organization in the honey ant Myrmecocystus mendax

Persistent cooperation between unrelated reproductives occurs rarely in mature eusocial insect societies, and when present, is frequently geographically constrained. Here we present genetic and behavioral evidence showing that primary polygyny occurs in some, but not all populations of the honey ant Myrmecocystus mendax. Specifically, we found that all mature colonies sampled in a population in the Sierra Ancha Mountains of central Arizona (USA)...