These ants are different species but share a mother. Ant queens of one species clone ants of another to create hybrid workers that do their bidding. | AI News Digest
Iberian harvester ants (Messor ibericus) exhibit a unique reproductive strategy by cloning male ants from a different species, Messor structor. This allows them to produce hybrid worker ants that perform essential colony tasks. Researchers discovered this phenomenon on the Italian island of Sicily, where M. ibericus thrived despite the absence of M. structor colonies. The queens utilize sperm from M. structor males to create a workforce of hybrids, effectively domesticating the other species. This remarkable adaptation challenges traditional biological norms and highlights the complexity of ant social structures.
