Fire ant reproduction-dispersal tradeoff model.

Ant queens experience a tradeoff between flight ability and reproductive output mediated by abdomen mass. Claustral queens sacrifice flight endurance for colony founding ability, whereas parasitic queens cannot found colonies but can fly longer in search of hosts. Flight duration curve is adapted from Fig 5A, and durations above 6 mg abdomen mass are speculative. Worker production curve is adapted from the literature [68]. Abdomen mass histograms show S. invicta queens from the flight morphology comparisons.