6 replies to this topic

[AntsInSpace]

Hi guys

 

So from what I've read ant queens can have thousands upon thousands of eggs, but that doesn't explain why I'm only seeing queens lay a few eggs. I'm assuming this is because the process of laying eggs requires energy, and she doesn't want to lay too many eggs before the workers are born and start feeding her. 

 

Am I right to assume that ? 

[Scrixx]

Hi guys

 

So from what I've read ant queens can have thousands upon thousands of eggs, but that doesn't explain why I'm only seeing queens lay a few eggs. I'm assuming this is because the process of laying eggs requires energy, and she doesn't want to lay too many eggs before the workers are born and start feeding her. 

 

Am I right to assume that ? 

 

Yes. She has limited energy so the amount she lays is also limited. She also has to feed the larvae when they hatch without having anything to eat. Different species have different numbers. My Camponotus sansabeanus queens have about 5-12 eggs while my Solenopsis sp. has about 30~. It could be because of size difference or even how much food stores each queen has. Not all larvae are fed equally. If you catch multiple queens of the same species, it's easy to see size differences as well as abdomen/gaster size differences.

[Barristan]

Founding queens have to deal with limited resources, especially protein.

 

What would happen if a founding queen would lay 200 eggs? The eggs will develop into larvae. In order to grow larvae require protein. But a founding queen only has a limited amount of it available so there is no way she would be able to feed all of them sufficiently with protein to become workers. So in the worst case, all larvae might dye and then the queen after some time too.

 

That's why queen limits the number of eggs they lay after nuptial flight.

 

The number of eggs laid will increase with colony size, until it finally reaches the maximum a queen is able to produce in a specific time or it is limited by protein available to the colony in its foraging zone.

[123LordOfAnts123]

Ultimately, the initial batch of eggs is determined by queen health and species. However, there is almost always a general limit as to how many eggs are first produced by founding queens, even in the presence of the vast resources such as found in captivity. This number can range from less than a dozen to hundreds. In some instances, much of the eggs laid in the first brood end up feeding larvae.

I also think it’s important to note that the vast majority of ant species form colonies with a maximum worker population ranging from hundreds to a few thousand adults. This is a lot less than is sometimes perpetuated.

[Serafine]

Also a lot of ants are very capable when it comes to assessing the conditions they live in and will not produce more workers than they have space/food for (a few just explode and then try to break out of the setup at all costs when it becomes too small to support them though).

[AntsInSpace]

Thanks a lot guys. So it seems to be a balance between how much protein the queen has when she first nests, like did she leave her previous nest healthy and full, and if so then she will lay some eggs, but not too much as to prevent her from feeding them as they morph into larvae. 

 

One other thing, do the eggs turn into larvae without any input from the queen ? I understand that she will find a nesting place that is around the right temperature, and then I read that she will move the eggs around the nest but I'm not sure why she does that. Anyway do the eggs turn into larvae on their own ? quite weird to me. I mean I never thought it weird when I thought of bird eggs. But I take it the egg has the nutrients and what not for the egg to eventually move through the processes, but at the larvae point I understand they need to be fed ? how are they fed ? Are they fed from the larvae stage right through the pupae stage and then of course when they're adults ? 

[Serafine]

The queen moves the eggs around in the nest so they're always at the place with the most perfect conditions (preferred conditions of eggs, larval stages and pupae are different). Larvae are fed by the queen (later by the workers) with secretions produced by the queen's internal glands (or food from the workers' social stomachsm or even solid food items). The larvae have a sort of programmed development plan but the queen/workers can halt (or slightly accelerate) their development speed with chemical messages mixed into the food/gland secretions. Larvae eat mostly protein (eggs and pupae obviously don't eat anything), workers feed almost exclusively on sugars (since workers don't grow they need next to no protein).