What Happens When an Ant Queen Dies? — Transcript
Full transcript
- 0:00This colony just lost its queen, and
- 0:02nobody knows it yet. Deep underground,
- 0:06her body has stopped moving, but her
- 0:08scent is still everywhere.
- 0:10So, the workers keep feeding her and
- 0:12cleaning her like nothing happened.
- 0:15Then, the scent fades.
- 0:17That smell told every ant, "The queen is
- 0:20alive. Don't breed." Now, it's gone.
- 0:24So, the workers' own ovaries switch on.
- 0:27In some species, they fight for the
- 0:29right to lay eggs, dueling with their
- 0:31antennae.
- 0:32The winner's brain actually shrinks
- 0:35while her ovaries grow.
- 0:37But, workers never made it. So, every
- 0:39egg they lay can only hatch into a male.
- 0:42No new workers are born.
- 0:45Every ant that dies is never replaced,
- 0:47and the colony slowly shrinks.
- 0:50Except, it has one last move. The males
- 0:54grow wings, fly out, and mate with young
- 0:57queens from other colonies. So, the
- 0:59colony dies, but its genes fly off to
- 1:02start a new one.
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