{"id":2521,"date":"2022-04-06T20:44:39","date_gmt":"2022-04-06T12:44:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/?p=2521"},"modified":"2022-08-14T00:25:00","modified_gmt":"2022-08-13T16:25:00","slug":"what-happens-when-the-queen-ant-dies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/what-happens-when-the-queen-ant-dies\/","title":{"rendered":"What Happens When The Queen Ant Dies?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>It is generally assumed that the death of the queen, particularly in monogynous colonies, also marks the death of the colony itself. While this has been proven experimentally, more and more studies reveal that dead queen ants can end up being replaced by younger queens.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this article we\u2019ll look deeper into what happens when the queen ant dies as we discuss several studies that demonstrate different situations and outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_64 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-light-blue ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title \" >Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/what-happens-when-the-queen-ant-dies\/#Colony_Death\" title=\"Colony Death\">Colony Death<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/what-happens-when-the-queen-ant-dies\/#Queen_Replacement_In_Polygynous_Ants\" title=\"Queen Replacement In Polygynous Ants\">Queen Replacement In Polygynous Ants<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/what-happens-when-the-queen-ant-dies\/#Queen_Replacement_In_Monogynous_Ants\" title=\"Queen Replacement In Monogynous Ants\">Queen Replacement In Monogynous Ants<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/what-happens-when-the-queen-ant-dies\/#Related_Questions\" title=\"Related Questions\">Related Questions<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/what-happens-when-the-queen-ant-dies\/#How_Long_Do_Queen_Ants_Live\" title=\"How Long Do Queen Ants Live?\">How Long Do Queen Ants Live?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/what-happens-when-the-queen-ant-dies\/#How_Long_Do_Ants_Live_Without_A_Queen\" title=\"How Long Do Ants Live Without A Queen?\">How Long Do Ants Live Without A Queen?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/what-happens-when-the-queen-ant-dies\/#How_Are_Queen_Ants_Born\" title=\"How Are Queen Ants Born?\">How Are Queen Ants Born?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/what-happens-when-the-queen-ant-dies\/#Summary_What_Happens_When_The_Queen_Ant_Dies\" title=\"Summary: What Happens When The Queen Ant Dies?\">Summary: What Happens When The Queen Ant Dies?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Colony_Death\"><\/span>Colony Death<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Most ant colonies are monogynous, meaning they only have one queen. In these colonies, these individual queens are the only ones <a href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/how-do-ants-reproduce\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"2389\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">capable of reproduction<\/a>. They produce thousands upon thousands of eggs to grow the colony and allow it to mature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So it\u2019s quite clear how the death of these queens may severely affect the health of the colony. Without them, no new workers are produced, growth ceases, and the colony eventually dies off as its members go past their lifespans.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In some colonies, this is exactly what happens. For example, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jstor.org\/stable\/2268\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">study on the monogynous colonies of the red wood ant<\/a> <em>Oecophylla sp. <\/em>showed that queens were never replaced upon removal. This resulted in the worker number gradually dwindling down until the colony died out entirely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Queen_Replacement_In_Polygynous_Ants\"><\/span>Queen Replacement In Polygynous Ants<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Queen replacement is by no means a rarity especially in polygynous (multiple-queen) ant colonies. Genetic studies in these ant colonies occasionally reveal genotypes of workers, new queens, and males, being incompatible with those of the reproductive queens present in the colony at any given time. This suggests that these polygynous colonies often experience queen turnover and replacement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Most of the time, these replacement queens are recruited within the colony and are therefore close relatives of the nest. However, there have been cases in some species wherein unrelated queens are adopted into the colony, as evidenced by the several different lineages of maternally inherited DNA. That said, little is known about how the latter is regulated and how often these unrelated queens succeed in being accepted to a colony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Queen_Replacement_In_Monogynous_Ants\"><\/span>Queen Replacement In Monogynous Ants<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s rather surprising that queen replacement occurs in monogynous ant colonies. Again, since these colonies only have one reproductive queen, it\u2019s logical to assume that the loss of the queen would eventually cause colony death. However, that\u2019s not always the case and as it turns out, queen replacement occurs quite frequently even in these single-queen colonies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, the monogynous Australian ants <em>Nothomyrmecia macrops <\/em>have shown to adapt an <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/12046624\/\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/12046624\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">alternative type of colony founding<\/a> wherein queens are replaced by one of the colony\u2019s daughters. This potentially allows the colony to become immortal as they may constantly replace queens as needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The same behavior can be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/abs\/pii\/S0003347209004047\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">found in the monogynous ants <em>Aphaenogaster senilis<\/em><\/a>.<em> <\/em>These ants produce supernumerary queens which serve as insurance for the untimely death of the current queen. This allows them, in the same way as the Australian ants, to extend their colony lifespan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What\u2019s more interesting though is the manner that they produce extra queens. Instead of producing a high number simultaneously, they only produce two with an interval of several days or even weeks between each one. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This makes it so that the first newborn queen almost always becomes the eventual replacement while the rest are only kept as backup. The limited production and delay also minimizes the risk of <a href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/do-ants-fight-each-other\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"2165\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">aggressive interaction<\/a> between the new queens which may very well lead to all of them being killed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Related_Questions\"><\/span>Related Questions<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"536\" src=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/what-do-queen-ants-do-1024x536.jpg\" alt=\"what do queen ants do\" class=\"wp-image-2514\" srcset=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/what-do-queen-ants-do-1024x536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/what-do-queen-ants-do-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/what-do-queen-ants-do-768x402.jpg 768w, https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/what-do-queen-ants-do.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption><a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Ant_queen_Camponotus_Pilicornis.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">AStronotuss<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CC BY 4.0<\/a>, via Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_Long_Do_Queen_Ants_Live\"><\/span>How Long Do Queen Ants Live?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The lifespan of the queen ant varies from species to species. In general, queen ants live for years. Fire ant queens for example, live an average of 7 years while <em>Lasius niger<\/em> queens have been documented to live for 28 years in captivity. In some polygynous species, queen ants have a short maximum lifespan of less than a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_Long_Do_Ants_Live_Without_A_Queen\"><\/span>How Long Do Ants Live Without A Queen?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Ants may live for several weeks and perhaps months without a queen. It depends on the species and the average worker lifespan.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_Are_Queen_Ants_Born\"><\/span>How Are Queen Ants Born?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Queen ants are born through the same fertilized eggs that hatch worker ants. The difference is that queen ants are fed and nourished more in the early years of their life cycle, allowing them to grow big and morph into reproductives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Summary_What_Happens_When_The_Queen_Ant_Dies\"><\/span>Summary: What Happens When The Queen Ant Dies?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The death of the queen may potentially mean the death of the colony itself. Without the queen, the production of new workers cease and the colony eventually dies off as the older workers reach the end of their lifespans.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fortunately, queen replacement occurs in polygynous and monogynous colonies alike. These new queens, be they adopted from within or be totally unrelated to the colony, take reproductive responsibility and allow the colony to survive a nd continue growing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It is generally assumed that the death of the queen, particularly in monogynous colonies, also marks the death of the colony itself. While this has been proven experimentally, more and more studies reveal that dead queen ants can end up being replaced by younger queens.&nbsp; In this article we\u2019ll look deeper into what happens when&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2546,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2521"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2521"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2521\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2546"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2521"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2521"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2521"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}