An ant colony is made up of three types of ants – queens, workers, and male drones. The queen is the only one capable of reproducing, but can ants live without a queen?
The answer is yes, but the effects can be drastic and will eventually lead to the demise of the colony – or a change from an ant colony to a “non-colony.” This is when the colony has no reproductive females, so the resources it takes to continue their way of life is diminished, leading to their gradual extinction.
Firstly, the ant queen plays an essential role in the ant colony as the mother of the entire colony. She is the person who starts it all, she lays eggs and cares for the larvae. Her role is so important because without a queen to lay the eggs for future generations, the species will die out.
Without a queen the colony’s social structure would be hugely affected. With the queen gone, queenless colonies can become unstructured. This means they do not have a reproductive female to pass down their genes, and the colony’s genetic diversity decreases. This lack of genetic variability can lead to ant colonies becoming inbred, which causes mutations and can result in deformities.
The absence of a queen can result in ant workers taking on reproductive roles, known as gamergates. Gamergates are female ants that are capable of reproducing, but they are not true queens because they are not capable of laying fertilized eggs. This means they will not be able to pass down their genes and the colony’s genetic diversity will decrease gradually.
There are some species of ants which can survive and have sustainable colonies without a queen. This is due to their degenerated reproductive behaviours, enabling them to continue reproducing and passing on their genes without a queen. These ants find creative ways to keep their colonies going, such as scavenging or even forming “sub-colonies” from the main colony.
Interestingly, the ants that can survive without a queen are species which cannot control the sex of their offspring. This means that male ants make up an unequal proportion of the colony and when they become too many, the colony will attempt to divide into two colonies.
Effects of Colonies without Queens
Unlike typical ant colonies, queenless colonies lack structured roles. The workers aren’t following the same tasks they were doing when the queen was present, they no longer have specific jobs to do and spend more energy on energy-consuming activities, such as searching for food. As a result, their overall colony productivity decreases.
Without the queen’s beneficial pheromones, workers lack the necessary unity among the colony and their ability to cooperate decreases. Without the queen’s guidance, for example, feeding the larvae, the younger ants would suffer and eventually die. This results in a steep decline in the number of workers, which increases the pressure on the gamergates to take on reproductive roles.
The queen is usually the leader of the colony, so the removal of an ant queen disrupts the community’s decision-making process. What’s more, the physical absence of the queen results in an decrease in communication between the ants. This is because the ant’s communication signals are strongly affected by the queen’s presence.
Colony Split in Queenless Colonies
If a colony can’t survive without a queen, it will eventually split into two colonies. This occurs when the number of male drones becomes too high, leading to the colony becoming overcrowded and overbearing. To combat this, the colony will then split into two. Half the drones will leave and form a new colony without a queen, while the rest of the ants remain with the old colony in its current queenless state.
Once the colony has split, if the colony without a queen is able to find resources, it is possible for it to survive and grow on a limited basis. That said, the colony is likely to be much smaller than its original size and there is a chance that it may never reach the size it was before the split. This can be attributed to the colony’s lack of genetic variation caused by their inability to produce new queens.
It is possible for colonies to survive without a queen, but the chances of success are slim and the changes that take place within the colony are considerable. Without a queen, the colony will be weaker and more prone to being taken over by foreign ant species or parasites, reducing the chances of survival.
Conclusion
When it comes to the question of whether ants can live without a queen, the answer is yes, but the changes that occur without a queen are drastic and can lead to the demise of the colony. Colonies without queens are likely to experience structural changes, decreased productivity, and an loss of essential communication signals. Additionally, the colony’s genetic diversity will diminish and its chances of sustained growth or survival will be highly limited.
