eli5 How does Queen Ants get so big? Do they just live longer? Is it that royalty bloodline? She just eat a lot more?
In: 5586
Here’s an article on how a queen ant can develop. Tldr: genes and eating more https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/did-you-know/queen-ants-dont-have-divine-right-their-thrones-just-right-genetics
Just throwing in some extra info, there are 2 main types of queens: Claustral and Semi-claustral.
Claustral queens are what you normally see when you think of queen ants with the bigger booty. They dig their hole and sit there to lay eggs. They have larger energy reserves so they can go a long time without eating until they can be provided by their children.
Semi-claustral queens on the other hand, don’t have this energy reserve and may need to go foraging while their first offspring develop. In this way, they aren’t encumbered by a large gaster when going to look for food. As a result, the overall size difference between these queens and their offspring may be less pronounced and they can closely resemble their offspring, albeit larger.
Latest Answers