Monogyne vs Polygyne Ants: The Hidden Truth About Ant Colony Structure

Slave-Maker Ants

The ant colony structure affects population density in remarkable ways. Polygyne ant colonies are incredibly packed, cramming nearly twice as many workers into the same area—35 million compared to just 18 million workers per hectare! They also boast 1.86 times more biomass than monogyne colonies. This remarkable difference plays a crucial role in shaping the lives and interactions of these fascinating insects.

What this means is that if you go for a polygenous ant species, you must be ready for dealing with double, even triple, times faster growth and expanding the ant farm way sooner.

Studies of ant colony social structures reveal that polygynous ants make up about half of all European ant species. This fact goes beyond mere biological curiosity. Multiple-queen colonies create bigger environmental and economic challenges than single-queen colonies because of their dense populations.

Monogyne vs Polygyne Ants: What’s the Difference?

The queen structure creates the main difference between monogyne and polygyne ants. Monogyne colonies have a single reproductive queen, while polygyne colonies operate with multiple queens working together as a whole. This basic variation leads to dramatic changes across the colony's structure.

Territorial behaviours set these colony types apart. Monogyne colonies aggressively defend their boundaries from neighbouring nests. Polygyne colonies take a different approach and create interconnected networks of nests with minimal aggression, which results in supercolonies that stretch across vast distances.

The genetic composition reveals distinct differences between these types. Workers in monogyne colonies exhibit close genetic relationships, as they all originate from a single mother queen.

The multiple queens in polygyne colonies create workers with broader genetic diversity. This variety helps the colony resist diseases better and adapt to environmental changes.

These colonies follow different paths to reproduce. Monogyne species create new colonies during the nuptial flight, where virgin queens fly off to start fresh nests after mating.

Polygyne colonies grow through budding - queens and workers simply walk to new locations to establish satellite nests.

Many ant species can switch between these colony structures based on their environment. The fire ant (Solenopsis invicta) serves as a perfect example - it forms more polygyne colonies when population density increases, adapting its social structure to match available resources.

Queen acceptance works differently, too. Monogyne colonies reject new queens that try to join, but polygyne colonies welcome multiple queens through special mechanisms, though complex power hierarchies exist.

Physical traits of queens reflect these structural variations. Polygyne colony queens tend to be smaller, carry fewer resources, and lay fewer eggs individually compared to monogyne queens. Yet together, multiple queens produce more eggs than a single queen ever could.

Imagine this: the common black garden queen ant, Lasius N, kicks off her reign with a single mating session and then continues to lay thousands of eggs for an incredible 30 years! Meanwhile, the European fire queen ants, Myrmica rubra, take teamwork to another level by forming massive interconnected nests. These supercolonies boast an astonishing total of up to 20,000 workers, all within just a few short years!

Myrmica rubra queen ant

The red queen ant's lifespan is only 2 years on average; therefore, logically, colonies like the European red ant need a multiple-queen hierarchy to exist.

How Polygyny Develops in Ant Colonies

Ant colonies develop multiple queens through two distinct paths that reshape the entire ant colony structure.

Multiple unrelated queens work together to form a new colony of ants in the first path - primary polygyny or pleometrosis. Queens might be attracted to similar microhabitats or actively look for potential partners, possibly using pheromones to find each other. This cooperative strategy naturally emerges in environments where the success rate of independent colony founding sits at less than 1%.

These original queen partnerships offer significant advantages. They accelerate worker production and enhance growth and defence against rivals. Additionally, the cofounding queens divide their tasks during the crucial establishment phase to optimise processes.

Notwithstanding that, most pleometrotic partnerships don't last long. The peaceful coexistence often ends once the first workers appear. Queens of species like Solenopsis invicta fire ants either fight to the death until one survives or compete by eating each other's eggs. Workers sometimes join in queen elimination without choosing between their own mother and unrelated queens. The queen with stronger pheromones wins.

Secondary polygyny stands as the more common path, where 10-year-old nests take in additional queens as they mature. Related queens usually join the colony, which suggests recruitment happens from within the nest. Some ant species, including invasive ones like Argentine ants (Linepithema humile), accept unrelated queens and form large supercolonies.

Genes often influence how secondary polygyny develops. A large supergene in fire ants determines the colony's social structure, making workers react differently to queens with distinct genotypes. The environment plays a significant role in determining where polygyny occurs.

Both development paths show strong links to invasive success. Multiple queens appear more often in invasive or tramp ant species. This happens because multiple queens boost worker production, improve new colony success, and increase chances that moved colony pieces contain reproductives.

The social structure of an ant colony can dynamically shift between having a single queen or multiple queens, adapting to ecological pressures with remarkable flexibility! In contrast, species with strong genetic control over queen numbers may not be as adaptable. This happens even nowadays, ants like the Camponotus nicobarensis are monogynous and polygene at the same time. The colonies in the north of Yunnan (South China) are mostly monogynous, and the rest, distributed in the south of Yunnan (South China), are polygene.

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Queen Behaviour and Social Dynamics

The social dynamics between queens in an ant colony structure show a fascinating mix of conflict and cooperation. Multiple queens in polygyne colonies create complex relationships that range from peaceful coexistence to aggressive behaviour. These queens can affect each other's egg-laying patterns through pheromones.

Queens don't always get along as nestmates. Queen ants in certain ant species compete by eating each other's eggs and create clear power hierarchies. Their competition grows fiercer as more queens join the colony. Research shows that each queen produces fewer eggs when there are more queens present. The workers sometimes kill queens to keep colony pheromone levels in check. Argentine ant colonies see about 90% of their queens eliminated during spring.

Workers are vital in managing queen relationships. They decide a queen's survival based on chemical signals, particularly the cuticular hydrocarbons that show fertility. The queens that survive in Argentine ant colonies have higher levels of specific di-methyl alkanes compared to the ones workers kill. The workers use these chemical differences to identify and remove less productive queens.

Monogyne vs Polygyne Ants. Queen relationships depend heavily on how closely they're related to each other. Related queens with identical gynes, starting colonies together, are more likely to stay together. Research shows that colonies with polygyne queens working together were five times more likely to keep all their founding queens compared to monogyne queen colonies.

Chemical signals are the foundations of these social interactions. Queens make specific pheromones that help workers recognise their fertility. These chemical signals might not be fully developed in new colonies. The eggs from founding queens in some species are chemically identical to worker-laid eggs.

These interactions create remarkable reproductive structures in polygyne colonies. Fire ants represent this complexity well. Just 10% of workers with the genetic variant for multiple-queen colonies can influence single-queen ants to welcome more queens.

Conclusion

The remarkable differences between monogyne and polygyne ant colonies teach us a lot about these amazing insects. The number of queens changes everything about how a colony lives, from how densely packed it is to how it behaves in its territory.

Polygyny develops in two ways - queens working together from the start, or colonies taking in new queens later. This shows how adaptable ants can be. Their colony structure changes based on what's happening in their environment and their genetic makeup, which helps invasive species become successful.

Queens in polygyne colonies maintain a delicate balance of teamwork, rivalry, and chemical signals. The workers control these relationships with their amazing ability to detect pheromones. Without doubt, this social setup lets polygyne colonies grow twice as large as colonies with just one queen, and way faster, too.

Anyone who wants to see these social structures up close can buy queen ants and colonies in England to build their own educational ant farm. The differences between colony types become clear when you watch how fast they grow and how they act in controlled settings.

These hidden variations between monogyne and polygyne colonies are more than just interesting biology facts. They affect ecosystems, pest control methods, and even how species evolve. Our ongoing study of these amazing insects and how queen numbers affect colony life will definitely give us more insights into one of nature's most successful social systems.

FAQs

What is the main difference between monogyne and polygyne ant colonies?

Monogyne colonies boast a single, powerful queen leading the charge, while polygyne colonies thrive with multiple queens working together in perfect harmony! This exciting difference influences many facets of colony life, such as population density, territorial behaviour, and genetic diversity.

How do polygyne ant colonies develop? 

Polygyne colonies can develop through two main pathways: primary polygyny, where multiple unrelated queens cooperate to establish a new colony, and secondary polygyny, where established nests adopt additional queens as the colony matures.

Are polygyne ant colonies more challenging to control than monogyne colonies? 

Yes, polygyne colonies pose greater environmental and economic challenges due to their higher population densities. They are more difficult to eliminate, often requiring more rounds of bait treatment compared to monogyne colonies.

How do queens interact in polygyne ant colonies? 

In polygyne colonies, queen interactions confidently span from mutual tolerance to competition. They actively engage in egg-stealing, establish dominance hierarchies, and assertively influence each other's reproductive behaviour through pheromones. Workers are equally crucial in regulating these queen dynamics.

What role do workers play in polygyne ant colonies? 

Workers in polygyne colonies play a vital role in regulating queen dynamics. They can determine a queen's fate based on chemical signals (pheromones), particularly cuticular hydrocarbons that indicate fertility. Workers often execute less productive queens to maintain colony balance.