The queen ant – facts and interesting information

Undeniably, the queen ant is number one in every colony (although, as you will learn later in this article, sometimes more than one ant can wear the crown). And, in our humble opinion, it is worth learning more about her, as this will allow you to look at the colony itself and the lives of all the ants living in the nest in a different light. Sit back, relax, and find out the answers to the most frequently asked questions about the ant queen.

Is there always one queen in an anthill?

This is a question that many people would probably answer in the affirmative. However, some species of ants can establish colonies in which more than one queen lives without any disruption.

This phenomenon is referred to as polygyny. When building their nest, ants live with two or more queens, whom they serve with equal care – the workers feed them, keep them clean and lay eggs for the queens (later, of course, watching over each subsequent stage of the developmental cycle of ants). In some situations in nature, we encounter facultative polygyny, which occurs when the nest is threatened. In such cases, introducing another colony with its own fertilised queen increases the chances of survival.

Another interesting phenomenon is pleometrosis, during which several queens simultaneously establish a single, shared nest. However, once it begins to function properly and stably, and the first offspring join the colony, the queens engage in mutual “assassinations” until, ultimately, only one remains to continue managing her subordinates.

An example of ants that tolerate more than one queen in a colony created in domestic breeding is the species Camponotus nicobarensis.

How is an ant queen created?

Where does the queen ant come from? As it turns out, it is quite a random matter, depending to some extent on the prosperity of the colony. If, during the development of successive generations of ants, the workers provide the larvae with plenty of good-quality food, some of the growing females will develop into adult winged ants – these are sometimes called “princesses” and will eventually leave their family nest to start a new colony.

At this point, we can answer the next question: Does the queen ant have wings? Yes, but only during the mating season. After mating, she lands in a place where she will establish her own nest. Here, she sheds her wings, which do not grow back.

Does the queen ant leave the nest? Unfortunately, once she has established her own colony, the queen ant never leaves her settlement.

What does an ant queen look like?

The queen ant is usually two to three times larger than her workers. In addition to her size, she is also distinguished by a significantly wider abdomen, in which she stores sperm and essential nutrients. She may also have significantly longer legs, which is generally due to her larger body size.

However, as the largest individual in the colony, does the queen actually rule the nest? There is no straightforward answer to this question, because in reality, it is the workers who exercise overall control over the life of the nest, communicating with each other on matters such as food gathering and nest expansion. It is also the workers who “plan” the care of the queen, whose only task is, in fact, to lay fertilised eggs, as is the case, for example, with our native ants Lasius flavus.

Therefore, as can be seen, the queen ant is not entirely the manager of the nest, but its survival depends on her. In addition, she can use pheromones to influence the other females in the colony in order to inhibit their sexual development and prevent them from developing wings and the ability to lay eggs in the future.

How does an ant queen reproduce?

The mating season (swarming) is the most difficult time in the life of ants, which can quickly come to an end. Young, winged “princess” ants must set off on their own, without any protection or help, and leave their mother nest. And what awaits them outside?

Here, they must immediately adapt to new atmospheric conditions, such as intense sunlight or heavy rain. In addition, predators – spiders, birds and other creatures – lie in wait for them at every turn. After encountering so many adversities, only a few per cent of future queen ants survive until fertilisation.

The queen ant participates in mating only once. Most often, she copulates with several males (this is a phenomenon known as polyandry), less often with only one (monandry). The queen collects sperm in her spermatheca, a small space in her body, from where she will later “draw” sperm to fertilise her eggs.

How long does an ant queen live?

For relatively small insects, ant queens can live surprisingly long. The average lifespan of an ant queen ranges from several to over a dozen, even twenty years.

However, the real record holder is the queen of the ant species Lasius niger. Under favourable conditions, she can live up to twenty-five or almost thirty years (in domestic breeding).

What happens when the queen ant dies?

The death of the queen ant is immediately noticed by the entire colony. This situation is, of course, problematic, as it carries the risk of the gradual extinction of the nest. Do ants have any ways of preserving their large family despite the death of the queen ant?

There may be several solutions, and their application depends on the conditions in which the ants live – insects will behave differently in their natural environment than in a home formicarium.

If no new queen appears, the colony will begin to die out. Yes, the younger generation, born from the last eggs, will maintain the nest for a while, but as the older ants die out, it will have no chance of survival.

Sometimes, one of the workers, in the event of the queen’s death, may take over her functions, focusing solely on laying eggs. However, as these will not be fertilised with sperm, asexual reproduction (parthenogenesis). As a result, only females will be born, which will be unable to transform into future queens (they will only be workers).

The most effective solution may be to introduce a new queen, for example by merging a solitary colony with one in which the queen is alive and functioning normally. For this to be successful, the process must be carried out within ants of the same species.

The queen ant – how to find her?

From a breeder’s point of view, this may be the most important question. How and where to obtain an ant queen? Is it possible to catch one yourself?

If you are brave and patient enough, there is nothing stopping you from trying to catch a queen yourself. You can only do this during the mating season, which lasts from mid-spring to early autumn. During this time, you can observe fairly large ants, which may have remnants of wings on their abdomen. After gently catching them (they are fast, be warned), you need to place them in a test tube with cotton wool.

This method is certainly interesting and provides an adrenaline rush, but it is not necessarily effective. In addition, the stress that the captured queen mother will face may result in her death before she even establishes a nest in your home colony, even if you provide her with the best conditions and ant accessories.

Do you want to be sure what species of ants you are introducing into your formicarium? Are you planning to breed them in a professional manner that is accessible to the ants themselves? In that case, be sure to check out our online shop, where in addition to colony starters, you can also find ready-made nest kits.

We can send you a complete formicarium with an arena, drinking troughs and feeding troughs, complete with a colony of your chosen species. It will already contain an ant queen and several workers. Once you have installed the entire nest in the chosen location, leave the rest to the insects – they will start building their colony, and you will be able to watch its development from the very beginning.

Can the Queen resign from her role?

Finally, a question that we hope will surprise you a little. The answer is also somewhat shocking – queens of some species (a good example is the fungus-growing ant – Acromyrmex echinator), if they are not fertilised during the swarming season, return to their home colony and simply turn into workers.

We hope that these few questions and answers about queen ants will make you fall even more in love with these extraordinary insects and encourage you to expand your home breeding!