They never have to venture far from the colony because their primary assignment is to tend to the affairs of the colony by making sure things run smoothly. The worker ants are an embodiment of their name - to work! This group of ants comprises female ants born inside the nest besides the queen. Unfortunately, there is no future for the male after mating.ĭive Deeper: Surprising Reasons Why There Is No King Ant Worker Ants Their task is simple, as they have little or no business contributing to the running of the colony except to mate with as many females as possible till they die. Male ants rarely venture outside the colony but spend most of their time wandering inside the colony. Unfortunately, after mating, they die, leaving the queen to begin founding a new colony. The males don’t perform many tasks asides from mating with the queen. They have big wings and abdomen, too, just like the queen, but the abdomen of the males is quite slender. The male ants are almost bigger than the queen. The lifespan of the queen is pretty long and can max up to 30 years. She can lay up to an average of 800 eggs per day and up to millions of eggs in her lifetime. She has a big elastic abdomen that can continue stretching according to the number of eggs laid. She is the mother of all the workers in the colony and does no other job than laying eggs, making her position vital. The queen has wings but sheds them off during mating since she no longer uses them. Interestingly, this act isn’t necessitated out of love but purely for evolutionary reasons - the need to spread their genes as she is the only one capable of laying eggs which will, in turn, birth a new generation of ants. The queen is the most important member of the group and must be protected at all costs, even if it means the others would have to give up their lives for hers. Some ant species have just one queen (monogyne) in their colony while some have several queens (polygyne). The queen lays the eggs, the males mate with the queen and help with little chores, workers nurture the young, and the soldiers guard the colony against external threats.īelow is an overview of the ant colony structure and roles. The colony is an efficient working system that allows ants to achieve common goals as a group. Most ant colonies can be found in anthills deep beneath the earth’s surface, but since all ants do not build anthills, colonies can be anywhere as long as it is made up of a group of ants. The average ant colony will contain about 500,000 ants. Collective Nouns for Ants A Colony of AntsĪ colony usually ranges from a few ants to millions of ants. We’ll focus on the official ones, however. These are the official terms of venery, and there are other informal terms used. That said, a group of ants can also be called a swarm, an army, or a nest. There’s a hierarchy and a lot of group work attached, which is why ants are considered eusocial insects. The colony is the most popular name for a group of ants, especially those living together in an anthill. The queen is the central figure and the most guarded member of the group or caste. The colony is divided into groups: the queen, drones, workers, and soldiers. Related Posts: What is A Group of Ants Called?Īnts operate a colony system in which various ants are born with designated roles.
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