It is waaay more complex than that, there is evidence that ants don’t follow the same governmental model of the ‘monarchy’ but instead it is the workers in charge, they bully the queen move her from place to place and if she stops laying eggs they will (in some cases) kill her. Some ants (like trapjaws) are even more intricate because any ant can become dominant and lay eggs.
Also, ants have such complicated communication methods simple things like an “off” appearance don’t trigger a behavioral response, although in those frames you can see one or two workers figure it out when she attacks the existing queen, but her mandibles allow her to kill those ants with ease. Back on topic, ants also can be “suckered” into a lot of weird stuff via social parasitism.
Regrettably I don’t have a “real” picture because there is only a single known specimen, but Solenopsis phoretica (a member of the elusive thief ant genus) grabs onto the petiole of other queens, then lays eggs by wrapping herself around the queens abdomen, workers treat the eggs of both queens as if they came from a single queen. This queen is incredibly small, and very little is known about it.
On the other hand, ants are the only ones to crack the social code of ants, beetles, mites and many other creatures are able to hop into a colony and gain protection and food, sometimes even eating ant brood.
I know this is an old meme, but I really like Potential History’s take on the world-famous Emu War. So here it is, thought it might amuse someone else here
I love Nathan Barnatt, so I’m gonna share with you guys his recent short film
Do any of you recognize him? Have seen this man falling or dancing like crazy before? hehe
He put a lot of effort into making this short film, so I appreciate if you have the time to watch
Enjoy
