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Ants are fascinating creatures and are found almost everywhere on earth. They live in large ant colonies, each with its own tasks. But how can you recognize the queen?

In a nutshell

  • Ant queen has the highest rank in the ant colony
  • has a distinctive appearance and special tasks
  • especially recognizable by their size
  • usually not just one ant queen per colony
  • several features distinguish them from other ants

Characteristics of an ant queen

The most important distinguishing feature is the size of the queen. Usually this differs significantly from that of the infantry. However, if you only determine the differences in size, you should also take the respective ant species into account. In the case of the carpenter ant, for example, the size of the workers also varies among themselves, so that it is easy to confuse a worker bee with a queen. But the ant queen has other distinctive features.

Source: Richard Bartz, Munich Makro Freak, Formica 2, Edited by Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 2.5
  • Body divided into head, thorax and abdomen
  • Thorax (chest) larger and more massive than other parts of the body
  • also broader and more voluminous than the head
  • Queen is born with wings on her rib cage
  • carries them until mating
  • after that they are discarded
  • only small wing stumps can be seen instead of the wings (queen's hump)
  • Queens can live to be 20 years and older
  • Workers a few months to three years
  • Queen about twice the size of workers

Tip: Queen ants that lose their wings before the nuptial flight (swarm flight) cannot be mated. You then have to fight for a new rank in the ant colony.

time of discovery

Ants are active during the warm months and start building their nests from April/May. The queens themselves spend most of their lives inside the nest. They are rarely seen outside. One of the few exceptions is the time of the so-called swarm flight (nuptial flight), when they mate and are looking for a new home.

Source: Bidgee, Camponotus consobrinus queen, Edited by Plantopedia, CC BY 3.0

Timing and duration of the nuptial flight may vary from species to species. Special swarm flight tables provide information about the exact periods. With the help of these tables, the period of time in which the ant queen is visible can be clearly limited. At all other times, queen ants tend not to be seen.

role in the ant colony

As already mentioned, the queens are the heads of an ant colony, which they also found from scratch and are also responsible for the rearing of the workers. From the beginning, the queen is destined to lay eggs and thus ensure the continued existence of the ant colony.

  • Mating takes place on the so-called nuptial flight
  • then looks for a suitable place to found a colony
  • their only task from now on is to produce ants
  • Both workers and males and future queens
  • Young queens develop from fertilized eggs
  • from the unfertilized the male animals
  • Queen produces about 100 eggs per day
  • around a million for the entire season

Tip: Brood care, nest building, foraging, defending and caring for the queen is the sole responsibility of the workers.

Often multiple queens

One or more queens can live in an ant colony. The latter are referred to as so-called polygynous states and can house dozens of queens.

Source: Alex Wild, Pheidole1, Edited by Plantopedia, CC0 1.0
  • Number depends strongly on ant species and environmental conditions
  • some species kill all but one additional queen
  • possible with other power struggles among the queens
  • some take over already existing colonies (social parasitic queen)
  • Workers then exclusively care for their brood
  • or they kill the intruder

frequently asked Questions

Can ants survive without their queen?

States with only one queen usually live only as old as the queen. If she dies, the colony dies too, because no more egg laying takes place. In the case of several queen ants, colonies can exist much longer, around 50 to 80 years.

Does only the queen ant have wings?

While the queen only wears wings until mating, the male ants of most species wear wings permanently.

How big can an ant colony get?

An ant colony living together in a colony can consist of up to a million animals, depending on the species. There are species with only about a dozen animals, but also such as the large red wood ant with 300,000 to 600,000 animals.

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