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Color of a Queen Ant and Lifespan

The queen begins her colony with a few good men from her birthplace and, on occasion, a neighboring colony. The male ants all have wings, as does the queen. A mating ritual ensues in flight until the queen is ready to find a nest to begin her own colony. The males, having served their purpose, die, and the wings of the queen, also no longer needed, fall off. Aside from her size, the queen is the same color as the rest of the colony, but has a longer lifespan.

A Queen's Life
- In all ant species, the purpose of the queen is to reproduce, keeping the colony growing. A typical queen can have 75,000 offspring and live up to 15 years. Most offspring are sterile females with a few winged males for reproducing.
Color
- Queen ants are found in more than 12,000 species around the world, with half existing in tropical rain forests, according to National Geographic. Not all are the same color as the common house ant. Most ants that invade homes and gardens are black or brown, but a variety of other colors exist such as red, orange and yellow. You will not find the queen wandering around your kitchen because she stays in the nest delivering eggs.
Colonies
- The queen has a long lifespan compared to the rest of the colony, but if she dies, the colony will not survive unless another queen is present. The workers must keep her safe and well fed. It is not uncommon for a colony to have more than one queen. Colonies have also grown by conquering other colonies in battle, and using the enemy as slaves.
Learn More
- Learning first-hand about ant colonies can start with an ant farm in the classroom or at home. You can observe the activity of a queen and how the workers keep the colony productive.

Insects & Science