myrmepropagandist
There are many different casts or morphs of ant. These are not based on genetics, but on how the larvae is fed & cared for as it develops. The same DNA can produce a winged queen or a minor worker.
nanitic - minim workers. this name is reserved for the ants from the queen's first batch of eggs.
minim - the very smallest workers, often tasked with care of the queen and eggs
minor - small workers
median - medium sized workers
major - large workers
solider - majors tasked with nest defense
myrmepropagandist
Lasius brunneus are little brown garden ants that are not thought of as "having castes" ... most ant guides will describe all their workers as "all the same size."
However, these photos from antiwiki show a size difference in workers of a mature colony vs. nanitic workers. The nanitic workers are small since their nutrition must come in its entirety from the body of the queen!
Do you have enough mass in your body to make three or four people to help you out?
I don't!
myrmepropagandist
replete - a major worker tasked with food storage, often with greatly distended gaster
queen - a major often with wings and larger ovaries and the impulse to leave the nest on a nuptial flight
I love the name "minim" like they are so tiny that the word "minimum" is too long to describe them.
Not all ants have all of these casts, some ants don't have casts at all.
GreenSkyOverMe (Monika)
@futurebird I think you or your autocorrect misspelled soldier
GreenSkyOverMe (Monika)
@futurebird I have enough body mass to make 3 very thin people 😂
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