It is all about equality when it comes to the queenless ant species out there. Diacamma is a genus of ant species that lacks a queen caste system. Instead of having a queen to lay eggs, they simply reproduce through a mated worker ant called a “gamergate”. Similar to a queen, but not, and only one worker has the ability to lay eggs. The fascinating part about this ant species is that its colony is rather small, unlike regular ants with millions or billions of members.
All workers are born with thoracic appendages called gemmae, but these appendages are typically amputated from all but one worker. That worker becomes the gamergate, and she is responsible for laying eggs. Mating happens with winged males within the nest or just outside it, as gamergates cannot leave the nest on nuptial flights. The gamergate secretes metatibial gland chemicals to attract males. And when she dies, a new gamergate will be selected, and the colony goes on. There are a few queenless ant species that we will discuss today; let’s have a look.
1Dinoponera Mutica
Since everyone is born equal, they also look the same. You can identify Dinoponera Mutica workers by their smooth and shiny integument with a bluish luster. The ants have long and flagellate golden-brown hairs known as pubescence, and a rounded pronotum that lacks sharp teeth. Workers are also pretty large, reaching lengths of over 3 centimeters, and they are pretty strong. This queenless ant species is found in central South America, living in semi-deciduous habitats. Across their range, these predatory foragers feed on large insects and small animals that they can find. These ants possess potent stings with venom that they use for defense and hunting. This venom is strong enough to cause severe edema, prolonged pain, and other systemic symptoms in humans.
2Diacamma Rugosum
The scientific name, or the Bornean queenless ant, is another species of the queenless ant in the family. This ant is also pretty big, reaching a length of 0.9 to 1.2 centimeters. A female has an elongated black body, reddish-brown appendages and legs, and distinctive backward-pointing spines on its waist. As for males, they are smaller, smoother, and lighter (often yellowish) in color.
This queenless ant species lives in many countries across South and Southeast Asia, where they feed on insects. Being ground dwellers, they nest in soil beneath stones, within rotting wood, and in deep leaf litter. You might think the colony size is big, but it starts with just 10 to 20 workers in the first year. Then it reaches 100 or more workers in mature colonies, and that’s it. The reproduction of this species is also kept strictly under control in the nest, where the gamergate lays all of the eggs.
She will also render workers sterile by mutilating their vestigial wing buds as soon as they pupate. This is how she maintains control and prevents infighting, making sure she is the only one who can reproduce. Regardless, the infertile workers called “callows” will remain loyal to her and let her control them. When the gamergate dies, or a colony grows large, then workers without mutilated wing buds may compete to replace her.
3Dinoponera Quadriceps
Dinoponera Quadriceps are quite large ants, being 2.8 to 3.4 centimeters long. Females of this species are solid black, and they have a finely micro-sculptured exoskeleton that is not shiny like the above ones. There are long stiff hairs across their bodies, and the rounded pronotum of this one also lacks sharp teeth. Males are light brown in color, and they have long fine setae of the second funicular segment and long narrow parameres. The males have transparent to lightly yellowish wings, while all females in the colony lack wings.
The Dinoponera Quadriceps are endemic to northeastern Brazil, inhabiting Atlantic forest remnants, dry savannas, and upland humid forests. A colony usually consists of 80 workers on average, which is the largest amongst other queenless species. They construct subterranean nests with multiple chambers at the base of trees or inside pre-existing termite earth mounds. Not too different from the Dinoponera Mutica, this queenless ant species also uses venom for defense and hunting. Their venom is strong enough that one sting can cause severe pain that lasts up to 48 hours. When it comes to prey, they feed on insects and invertebrates as well as fruits and seeds.
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