Why some ants become queens, while others work hard

In a complex world of ant colonies, he became queen and kept the size of the workers more than just size, which was related to what it was genetically meaningful. A new study by Rockefeller University, published in PNASsuggesting that while larger ants are more likely to develop into the queen’s trait, genes ultimately determine how body size maps to social roles. Even ants raised in the same environment can diverge in terms of fate, depending on their genetic background.

Body size predicts caste, but only through genetic lenses

Not only are the Ant Queens much larger than the workers – they sprout wings, develop spawning ovaries, and live completely different lives. But what brought them on this path? Scientists have long debated whether environmental factors, such as food or temperature, can distinguish size from caste development. This new study solves a species debate: in cloning a strategy ants (ooceraea biroi), caste traits and size are inseparable, but genes determine how much they bind.

Using the species’ unique biology (clonal reproduction and synchronous life cycle), the team manipulated genetics and environmental conditions to observe how ant larvae develop. The results show that although the environment affects the size of ants, only genetics can change the significance of this scale in its future role.

Major findings from the study

• Environment variables Food availability and temperature affect the size of the ants, but are not independent caste characteristics.
• Queen-like characteristics Once the ants reach the genetically set size threshold, larger ovarian and eye development occurs.
• Genetic line The size of the caste is predicted in different ways: some ants are smaller in size than others.

Genetics attracts castes

“If some environmental factors affect caste, it also affects size,” said Patrick Piekarski, co-author of the study. “It can’t induce one rather than another.” In other words, you can’t create a queen from a small ant just by changing the environment, unless her genes define it as Queenly.

The study showed that ants from the two genetic lines grew to different sizes on average. However, for the same body size, M-line ants are more likely to develop large-size characteristics than A-line ants. This means that genetics not only affects the size of the ants, but also adjusts the meaning of this size in colonial development rules.

Impact on evolution and behavior

For senior writer Daniel Kronauer, this work provides a window into how ant society acts as a superbiota work. “Workers leave their nests for food, take care of larvae, build and expand nests; the queens mostly just pair with eggs,” Cronlauer said. “So, understanding the relationship between body size and caste is not only a morphological question, but also opens the door to understanding how social roles, brain function and colonial dynamics develop and develop together.”

In ants, size has proven to be important, but that’s simply because genes say so.

Magazine: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
doi: 10.1073/pnas.2501716122

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