ABSTRACT
Colony size and starvation can affect food flow, and starvation can result in cannibalism of the brood. Food flow in an imported fire ant colony is complex, but progress has been made in unravelling some of it. The ability of the imported fire ant to store food is unclear. While considerable progress has been made in regard to the physiology of the imported fire ant, there is much yet to be done. The chapter focuses on problems concerning the production of sexuals, mating activities, colony founding, and food flow because of their importance to our understanding of the imported fire ant and ultimate management of this insect. E. O. Wilson et al. reported that the fire ant has distinct foraging territories while J. W. Sum merlin et al. found food flow between field colonies in both Florida and Texas.
