Hobbies And Interests
Ant Species
There are many species of ants. Some species have a single mother queen. Some have many mother queens. The main difference between a queen ant and the other ants of a colony is her ability to reproduce. She will be fed and reared by other ants so she develops sexual fertility and wings. A queen ant takes part in nuptial flight, which is a mating ritual. She will use the wings to fly to a new location to colonize with the new larvae.
Fertilized or Unfertilized
During a nuptial flight, a queen ant will choose a male ant from another colony as her mate. The male supplies her with sperm. She keeps it in her receptacle with her eggs. The queen ant determines which eggs will be fertilized and which will not. Unfertilized eggs become worker ants for a colony. Fertilized eggs are nourished to become future queens. The queen can choose to withhold the appropriate nourishment from the fertilized offspring. When she does this, she determines the offspring will become worker ants, as well.
Ant Society
The factors that determine the life of the colony largely depend on the resources available for the life cycle. A colony rich in resources can afford to produce many queens by feeding them. A colony with little food resources may consist of mostly male workers. In the case of many queens born and nurtured in one colony, these queens can either leave for nuptial flight or compete with each other within the colony for a mate. Some queens will remain and continue to reproduce if there are resources to create a large colony.
Death of Queen Ants
A queen ant can have a long lifespan. Some species are estimated to have queens that live up to 25 years. Queen ants can be killed by human intervention, their natural life cycle, or by other ants. Colonies of worker ants have been known to kill their queen if she is not fulfilling her role in reproducing workers for the colony. Queen ants are known to put their own survival above that of the colony and workers that sense this may rise up and kill their queen.