Pogonomyrmex occidentalis is common mound building harvester ant. The workers are about 1 cm in length and build nests that extend several meters underground and are topped with a conical nest mound. Colonies have a maximum of 20,000 or so workers and a single queen. There is no evidence that the colony can ever replace their queen, so the life of the colony coincides with the life of the queen. She mates multiple times during the mating flight on the day she flies from her natal nest. Workers live for about one year and spend the later weeks of life

We have a number of research projects, some of which are largely completed, some of which are ongoing and some of which are likely to continue as long as we keep the project going. These are several of the current research projects.

• Long-term demography
• The effects of multiple mating
• Experimental transplants
• Mating and reproductive conflict