How British ants say Long Live The Queen while in Spain they're hot-headed revolutionaries
An ant's life: The insects showed different traits depending on where they were from the study found
There hasn’t been a revolt against the monarchy in Britain for a very long time. And perhaps the animal kingdom felt it should follow suit.
For although Spanish twig ants are hot-headed revolutionaries, ready to overthrow a queen and install their favourite on the throne, ours are rather more, well, apathetic.
Scientists who spent four years studying colonies of twig ants, found that worker ants in Spain readily plot assassinations and revolutions.
And as queens who were persistently attacked and harangued by the workers were far less likely to go on to be egg layers, it appears the workers actually ‘decide’ which female is allowed to rule.
But in Britain, it’s a different story altogether. The workers simply refuse to get involved in politics and will loyally follow any female setting herself up as a matriarch.
Dr Robert Hammond, who led the study at Leicester University, said: ‘The contrast in worker power between the aggressive Spanish twig ant workers and the apathetic twig ant workers found in the UK and elsewhere is intriguing.
‘The role of workers has been overlooked in the argument over who determines which queens reproduce. Worker ants are known to be important players in various arguments that happen within the colony, but this is the first time worker ants have been shown to be so influential over which queens reproduce.
‘We found evidence that workers do indeed hold the power and, like revolting peasants, the masses are ferocious, with workers beating up and even killing all but one queen.’
The researchers, whose study was published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, collected 22 Spanish ant colonies and monitored behaviour in a laboratory, looking for evidence that workers bite or attack potential queens.
Twig ants are common in Britain - but rarely venture into gardens or homes. They live in colonies of up to 200 ants inside decaying twigs and branches on woodland floors.
Past studies have shown that British, French and German twig ant colonies have up to ten queens. However, their Spanish cousins prefer just one fertile female.
Dr Hammond said it was not known why some ants were more aggressive. ‘It could be that Spanish twig ants are only found in mountains in small patches so it may benefit the colonies if queens have to find new nests.’
Ants have a complex social structure. Queens lay eggs in the spring which hatch into grubs, cared for by the infertile female worker ants during the summer and winter.
Grubs turn into adult workers, queens and males the following summer. The queens and males mate before the queens go off to find a new nest – or in the case of British twig ants – return to their old home.