Vials containing founder queens of the red imported fire ant,Solenopsis invictaBuren, were placed under the soil surface at four locations in central Texas; two within the current range ofS. invictaand two outside, to compare founder queen predation mortality and also to document ant predators of the queen. The screen mesh covering vial openings was sufficiently small to prevent queens from escaping but allowed predacious ants as well as other organisms to enter. Queen mortality was compared between treatments and controls and at four locations. Of the four locations studied during 1988, predation by ants had the most pronounced effect on queen survival within the range ofS. invicta. Twelve species of ants that previously have not been recorded as predators ofS. invictafounder queens were observed killing queens during this study. Also, diversity of the ant community was found to be less within the range ofS. invictathan outside the range.