Ants are one of the few animals that has managed to colonize the world, as they are found on all continents except Antarctica. To date, more than 14,000 species of ants have been identified, but there are thought to be many more. Some of these ant species have evolved in conjunction with other species, developing many symbiotic relationships, including slavery.
The ants have been so successful, thanks in part to their complex social organization, becoming a super-organization in which a single variety has the function of reproducing and perpetuating the species. If you find this topic interesting, we invite you to continue reading this article by Animal Expert, where we will explain, among other things, how the ants breed, how many eggs an ant lays and how often they reproduce.
- The scientific name of the ant is formicidae and is a group of animals that are organized in eussociality.
- The highest and most complex form of social organization in the animal world.
- It is characterized by the organization of castes.
- One calf and the other sterile.
- Commonly known as the caste of the working class.
- This type of society occurs only in certain insects.
- Such as ants.
- Bees and wasps.
- Some crustaceans and in a single species of mammal.
- The bare mole rat (Heterocephalus glaber).
Ants live in eussociality and are organized in such a way that an ant (or several, in some cases), acts as a breeding female, which we popularly call “queen”. Her daughters (never her sisters) are the workers, performing roles such as caring for their young, collecting food and building and enlarging the anthill.
Some of them are responsible for protecting the colony and, instead of the workers, are called soldier ants. They are much larger than workers, but smaller than the queen and have a more developed jaw.
To explain the reproduction of the ants we will start from a mature colony, in which are the queen ant, the workers and the soldiers.An anthill is considered mature when it is about 4 years old, depending on the ant species.
The breeding period for ants occurs year-round in tropical regions of the world, but in temperate and cold regions, only during warmer seasons. When it’s cold, the colony goes into inactivity or hibernation.
The queen is able to lay unfertilized fertile eggs throughout her life, which will give way to workers and soldiers, born of one kind or another based on hormones and food consumed during the first two phases of her life. These ants are haploid beings (they have half the normal number of chromosomes of the species). A queen ant can lay between one and several thousand eggs in a few days.
At one point, the queen ant lays special eggs (half-hormones), although they resemble others. These eggs are special because they contain future queens and males. At this point, it is important to note that females are haploid individuals and males are diploids (normal number of chromosomes for the species). In fact, only the eggs that will produce males are fertilized. But how can they be fertilized if there are no males in an ant colony?
You were interested in this type of animals, know: The 13 most exotic animals in the world
When future queens and males mature and develop their wings under the care of the colony, given the ideal climatic conditions of temperature, hours of light and humidity, the males fly away from the anthill and congregate in some areas with other males. When they are all together, the bridal flight of the ants begins, that is, they mate, in which they make movements and release pheromones that attract new queens.
Once there, they come together and co-ulan. A female may mate with one or more males, depending on the species. The fertilization of the ants is internal, the male inserts the sperm into the female, and she keeps it in a spermateca until it must be used for the new generation of fertile ants.
At the end of the copulation, the males die and the females look for a place to bury themselves and hide.
The lady female who copulated during the bridal dance and managed to hide, will remain clandestine for the rest of her life.These first moments are crucial and dangerous, as it must survive with the energy accumulated during its growth in its native colony and you will even be able to eat your own wings, until you lay your first unfertilized fertile eggs, which will give birth to the first workers.
These workers are called nurses, are smaller than normal and have a very short lifespan (a few days or weeks). They will be in charge of starting the construction of the anthill, collecting the first meal and taking care of the eggs that the final workers will produce. That’s how an ant colony was born.
If you liked knowing how ants breed, see also: Most poisonous insects in Brazil
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HANNONEN, M., SLEDGE, M. F., TURILLAZZI, S., SUNDSTRO, L. (2002). Animal behavior, 64, 477? 485.
Kuzcenov, N. (1962). The wedding marriage of the ants. Zool-gica Lilloana Act, 18, 385? 442.
WILSON, E. 0. The origin and evolution of polymorphism in ants. Biological Laboratories, Harvard University.