Everyone's a queen: The ant species with no males or workers
New Scientist
February 23, 2026
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In a groundbreaking discovery, scientists have identified a unique parasitic ant species, Temnothorax kinomurai, found in Japan. Unlike other ants, every individual in this species is a queen, with no males or worker ants. These queens reproduce asexually through parthenogenesis, producing cloned offspring that are also queens. This remarkable adaptation allows them to take over colonies of another ant species, Temnothorax makora, by killing the host queen and duping the workers into caring for their young.
For decades, researchers suspected that T. kinomurai only produced queens but lacked definitive proof until a study confirmed this with genomic analysis. The queens were observed successfully invading host colonies, with seven out of forty-three surviving to establish new nests. This process highlights an entirely new form of social organization in ants. The study also revealed that par
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Originally published on New Scientist on 2/23/2026