Genomic architecture and evolutionary dynamics of a social niche polymorphism in the California harvester ant, Pogonomyrmex californicus

The societies of social insects are highly variable, including variation in the number of reproductives in a colony. In the California harvester ant, Pogonomyrmex californicus (Buckley 1867), colonies are commonly founded by a single queen (haplometrosis, primary monogyny). However, in some populations in California (USA), two or more queens cooperate in colony founding (pleometrosis) and continue to share a nest over several years (primary polygyny). Here, we produce a high quality assembly genome and use population genomics and linkage mapping to study the evolutionary dynamics and genetic architecture of this social niche polymorphism.