lifeless carpet of ants.
Ant empires like this one have cropped up from time to time in different parts of the world. A similar transformation, introduced by a mutant colony accidentally introduced from South America, had swept through the fire ants after the species had occupied most of the southern United States. The origin of the Nokobee Supercolony was due to a change in only one gene in the hereditary code of the ants. The mutation did not create new processes in the brain and sensory system. Instead, it shut a couple of them down. Supercolony was much less sensitive to colony odors than others of its species. Although it could still distinguish the odors of other kinds of ants and nonmutated colonies of its own species, it was unable to make territorial divisions within its own borders.
By weakening Supercolony's sense of smell, the mutation also diminished the workers' ability to detect the queen odor. As a result a multitude of queens were now tolerated, in contrast to the single mother queen allowed in nonmutated colonies. These queenlets, as they might be called, were distributed widely through the webwork of galleries and chambers of the vast Supercolony nest. The queenlets were also smaller in size than nonmutant queens. They did not fly away to mate, and they made no effort to start new colonies of their own. Instead, at the mating hour they simply copulated with males they met on the nest surface, including their own brothers as well as cousins of varying degrees of remove, and then returned immediately to the nest interior to take up the production of more eggs for the growth of Supercolony.
A genetic mistake and a physical disability were for Supercolony ironically the key to success. The erasure of internal territories, combined with perpetual refreshment of the supply of queens, made Supercolony both boundless in size and potentially immortal. The mutation also gave it the power to extract far more resources from its environment than was possible for unmutated colonies of the same species. The ants had more space in which to pack their nests. Their dense populations allowed them to subdue more insects and arthropods as prey, and they were able to eliminate other ant species that competed with them for food.
The mutation had changed not only the social structure of its carriers but also the rules of engagement in war. The myrmidons of Supercolony fell upon rival colonies like a Mongol horde. By early spring in the year following the Streamside Colony victory over the Trailhead Colony, the first Supercolony patrols reached the eastern boundary of the newly secured Streamsider territory. The first workers to encounter the patrols had no conception of what they were now facing. It was nothing less than the greatest natural threat imaginable for these ants. Supercolony armies expanded their own domain by the simple process of building nests on newly conquered land and then sending forth scouts to explore the terrain a relatively short distance beyond. When a large enough expeditionary force could be assembled on the border to confront whatever colonies stood in their way, they attacked their neighbors without hesitation.
As Supercolony scouts appeared with increasing frequency, their counterparts from the Streamside Colony offered to hold a tournament. In the ancient ritual of their species, they puffed up their abdomens, straightened their legs into stilts, and tried to strut around the intruders. Supercolony scouts did not respond in kind. If alone, they fled immediately, laying an odor trail homeward to recruit reinforcements. If already present in groups, they attacked at once.
After a few days of such sorties and mismatched responses, the ants of the closest Supercolony nests reached a level of ant power and excitement sufficient for a military expedition. By this time some of the scouts had already pressed forward and discovered the Streamsider nest itself. The odor trails they laid, the alarm pheromones they broadcast, and the scent of enemy on the bodies of the scouts returning home brought even more Supercolony workers to the frontier. The number of Supercolony fighters able to invade grew faster and faster. For a little while longer Streamsider defenders suggested a tournament. They were answered with unhesitating aggression from the Supercolony invaders.
Finally, the Streamsiders dropped the diplomatic response and began to fight back on contact. It was too late and too little for the unfortunate defenders. By this time the invading horde was unstoppable. In the course of a single day a wave of lethal fighting spread across the approaches