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Having a queen is what makes a "queenright" hive, nest, or colony of eusocial insects. [1] [2] A colony with multiple queens is said to be a polygyne form, whereas one with only one is a monogyne form. The ancient Greek origin of gyne meant a woman who had given birth to at least one child. [3]
Slide in the metal divider (insert): By sliding the divider into the Cloake board, the single functioning colony is now divided into two parts – a queenright lower colony and a queenless upper colony. The lower entrance is re-opened, allowing bees in the queenright section to exit the hive.
Once the colony has established itself, the queen ant will lay eggs continuously. Among species that reproduce sexually, the queen selectively uses the sperm cells retained from the nuptial flight , laying fertilized or unfertilized eggs depending upon the cyclic needs of the colony; [ 8 ] the sex of each individual ant is determined by whether ...
In a study conducted by Sitthipong Wongvilas et al., they found that most eggs laid by the non-natal A. andreniformis were policed by the queenright workers of the A. florea colony. [12] Although they adopted A. andreniformis workers in the hive, A. florea workers policed non-natal larvae, thereby preventing interspecies parasitism. [12]
There are circumstances, however, where a colony can become queenless, and therefore certain males must adapt to this surrounding in order to increase paternity. In ants and honeybees, there are two different types of monogynous settings. Type A are monogynous, queenright colonies where the queen is the mated female and everyone else is unmated.
Gamergate lifespan is short compared to queens in queenright colonies, but gamergates can be replaced by other dominant workers in the colony without risking colony survival. Reproductive investment in gamergate females is thus optimized because non-differentiated gamergates (i.e. reproductively inactive workers) function as laborers.
The annual colony cycle of honeybees involves migration, swarming, and absconding. A. florea migrate seasonally from one habitat to another. This might increase colony fitness, as the honeybees search for new territories, resources, or a reduction in parasites. Once a colony has outgrown its hive space, it will reproduce via swarming.
M. nigrocincta is a gamergate species, which allows female workers to be fertile, and these are then able to reproduce in both queenless and queenright (colonies with a queen) colonies. [20] This means a colony which loses its queen can still thrive in the absence of the queen.