How Do Ants Kill Their Queen?
WouterAlmost all species of ants revolve around their queen. Workers rely on the queen to provide food and care. The queen is also responsible for laying eggs.
When the queen dies, the colony cannot survive. The worker ants continue bringing back resources to the settlement, but they will not have a replacement queen. The colony will slowly die off.
The queen is the largest member of an ant colony. She is usually about twice the size of a worker ant. She also has wings. This makes it easier to identify the queen. When the queen dies, her body is carried underground.
If the colony does not have a queen, the ants will begin to search for food. They will also build an underground nest. The colony will not grow for several months. The ants will also become physically weak.
If the colony is large, there might be several queens. The worker ants will begin to kill the queens. This is done because they are dependent on the queen as their mother. They also feed the queen to reinforce her behavior.
The queen lays thousands of eggs during her lifetime. If the colony has a large brood, the queen will not have enough strength to defend herself against the workers.
Workers also attack the queen if she tries to produce too many eggs. The workers also kill other queens, such as the one who is injured.
During mating season, the queen ants will move outside of the nest. This means that she is looking for a mate. Depending on the species, a queen can live for a decade or more.
