The role of the Queen ant
One of the reasons army ants are such successful predators is their strength in numbers. Colonies can reach ten-million strong in some species and the queen ant is the main reason for this. Army ant queens have evolved a syndrome that allows them to be incredibly successful egg layers; dichthadiigyny. Dichthadiigyny is categorized by a periodical swelling of the gaster of the Queen ant (fig 4) to accommodate for the production of millions of larvae per month in some species (Brady, 2002). This means that the queen is well suited to a nomadic existence, in that she can lay eggs periodically and migrate when not laying (Gotwald, 1995). Another characteristic of the dichthadiigyne morphology in the queen ant is the permanent loss of wings. This limits the ant’s large-scale dispersal capabilities as they are unable to take the queen across bodies of water. The queen however, when not in the statary phase is more than capable of moving between nest sites of her own accord, using her well-developed legs. She is almost always accompanied by worker ants when not under threat and larger, soldier ants when under threat (Fig 7). The unique features of the queen and the queen herself are the determining factors in the survival of colonies. Without her the colonies would fall into disarray and eventually die (Gotwald, 1995)