Are All Ants Hard Workers?

Not All Ants Are Hard Workers: Scientists Find 'Lazy' Ants In Ant Nest. The big, big world is run by people who play different roles according to social classes. In the smaller ant world, social classes may well exist too. As in popular belief, ants are hard-working.

Are all ants workers?

A female ant's fate to become a worker or queen is mainly determined by diet, not genetics. Any female ant larva can become the queen – those that do receive diets richer in protein. The other larvae receive less protein, which causes them to develop as workers.

Are there ants that don't work?

They may look useless, but they're not: so-called lazy ants serve as new recruits ready to replace the top productive workers when the need arises. New research shows that these ants are far from useless.