Overview
- Researchers report that Temnothorax kinomurai produces only queens via parthenogenesis, making it unique among known ant species.
- Lab rearing of six collected colonies found all developing offspring matured as queens, with no males or worker castes observed.
- Young queens invade nests of the related species Temnothorax makora, kill the resident queen, and have surviving host workers raise their brood.
- The study, published in Current Biology, is based on a small sample from a rare acorn‑nesting species recorded at nine sites in Japan.
- In reported lab trials, 43 offspring were all queens, and only seven of 43 young queens succeeded in establishing a host takeover, underscoring the strategy’s risk.