How Does Ants Make Babies?
WouterDuring the life of an ant colony, new ants emerge every few weeks. New ants are not miniature ants, but rather worm-shaped larvae that are fed by the adult workers.
Workers are responsible for the care of the queen and other ants in the colony. Workers carry food back to the nest, clean the nest, and protect the eggs. They also police conflicts in the colony and dispose of waste. They lay pheromones to attract new ants.
The size of an adult ant is determined by the type of food the larvae are fed. Some ants are venomous or bite. Some ants drink raindrops or honeydew. Other ants use their mandibles to break apart food. Some ants will pierce the skin of a baby ant to extract nutrients.
Male ants mate with queen ants. The males will die soon after mating. Male ants have no father or sons. They have only one genome copy. The queen lays eggs, which become fertile female workers.
Queen ants live in a chamber in the nest. The queen uses energy from redundant flight muscles to produce the eggs. She then lays them in a special chamber inside the nest.
Queen ants live a long life. They can lay thousands of eggs over the course of their lifetime. They have thicker thoraxes, which connect their head to their waist. They also have wings. They do not need to eat for weeks when they are underground. They only lay fertile eggs in the summer.
