Polygyny via unrelated queens indicated by mitochondrial DNA variation in the Australian meat ant Iridomyrmex purpureus

The Australian meat ant Iridomyrmex purpureus is known from observations and allozyme surveys to have a high proportion of mature colonies polygynous, but very few incipient ones. Sixteen colonies in the vicinity of Maryborough, Victoria, revealed four mtDNA restriction site haplotypes. One of these nests presented two different haplotypes; given the haplotype frequencies, this result suggests that a high proportion of mature nests contain unrelated queens.