How are male ants developed?
Male ants are developed from unfertilized eggs laid by the queen. These eggs develop into males without fertilization taking place. On the other hand, workers and new queens are developed from fertilized eggs.
The development of male ants begins just like the development of other ant larvae. The eggs are laid in a special incubator and are cared for by the workers. After a few days, the larvae hatch from the eggs and remain in the brood chamber until they have developed into pupae. The pupae of male ants develop faster than those of workers and queens.
When the pupae mature, they break out of their cocoon and emerge as adult male ants. The main task of the male ants is to mate with the new queens. After mating, the male ants usually die quickly, while the fertilized queens look for a new place to establish a colony.
What happens to unfertilized ant queens?
Unfertilized ant queens have not fertilized a male to produce offspring. This means they cannot produce workers or new queens and their colonial role is limited.
However, in some ant species, unfertilized queens can still serve an important function in the colony. For example, they can help care for the larvae, maintain the nest structure, and defend the colony against intruders.
In addition, unfertilized queens can sometimes be accepted as replacements for a dying fertilized queen. In this case, the unfertilized queen can fertilize herself with her own eggs to produce offspring. This is called parthenogenesis and is a form of asexual reproduction where the female fertilizes herself.
In general, however, unfertilized ant queens have a limited lifespan and are unable to establish or maintain an entire colony.
So you must be thinking, So unfertilized queens produce males?
Yes that's right. Unfertilized ant queens are capable of producing males because males develop from unfertilized eggs. This means that unfertilized queens can still play an important role in producing male ants in the colony.
However, it is important to note that male ants generally play a less important role in the colony than workers or queens. Their main job is to mate with the new queens and then they usually die quickly. Therefore, from an evolutionary perspective, it is probably not beneficial for a colony to depend on unfertilized queens to produce males. In most cases, therefore, colonies need a fertilized queen to successfully reproduce and grow their population.
Why do males live shorter lives?
Male ants generally live shorter lives than females (workers and queens) because their main job is to mate with the new queens and then they usually die quickly.
When male ants mature, they have only one goal: to reproduce and pass on their genes to the next generation. Once they have mated, they have no further function in the colony. This means that their lifespan is not as important to the survival of the colony as that of the workers or queen.
In addition, male ants generally have less developed bodies and less protection from environmental factors than females. This can further shorten their lifespan, because they are less resistant to weather conditions, predators and diseases, for example.
Basically, male ants generally live shorter lives than females because their reproductive role is limited and because they generally have less developed bodies than females.