Ants: The Grandmasters of the Insect World

The Social Structure of Ant Colonies Resembles a Chess Board

The Queen is the most powerful ant in the hive. If the queen is lost – the colony is lost. She is the founder and leader of the colony. She populates the colony by laying thousands of eggs. She produces pheromones that induce the entire colony to work and remain together, while she stays deep within the colony, safe from predators.

Send in the Drones

The drones are the males and have wings so they can perform their only task for the nest - mating with the queen. It sounds like a great life but once they mate they die. Drones are only around for a few days each year.

Why Wings?

The race is on! Mating takes place in the air not long after the queen exits her cocoon. Why in the air? Most likely for protection from predators while the queen is exposed. Once fertilized, she rips off her own wings and begins a new colony. The queen takes care of her first batch of eggs and once the first hatch is out of their cocoons, the workers take over the caretaking of the colony. More about the workers later.