Overview
- The Japanese species Temnothorax kinomurai lacks males and workers, with every individual a reproducing queen produced by parthenogenesis.
- Researchers collected six colonies and reared 43 offspring in the lab, with genital inspections confirming no males were present.
- Young queens invade nests of the related ant Temnothorax makora, sting and kill the resident queen, then use surviving host workers to raise their young.
- In controlled takeover trials, 7 of 43 queens successfully seized host colonies and produced 57 additional offspring, all female queens.
- Scientists describe a unique combination of workerless social parasitism and asexual reproduction, noting open questions about its evolutionary origins and genetic mechanisms.