ANTSTORE World of Ants

[badman]

At what point is the caste of an ant decided, is it at conception? Or is the caste of each egg undecided and determined by environmental factors such as hormones?

If a colony is threatened will it produce more majors?

If there are no threats do Major workers do an equal amount of work to normal workers?

[tail__]

The caste is determined by amount of food given to the larva and pheromones. When the colony lacks soldiers and there is plenty of food, some larvae will grow, but present soldiers produce pheromones which stop larvae from growing into new soldiers, this way they will not be too numerous.

Producing major workers takes a lot of time, so there is no relevance. Anyway, majors are also useful in peace time, they can kill bigger prey and transport heavier goods.

In some species, like Formica, all workers, big and small, are able to do any work. In others, like Pheidole, majors are more specialized fighters and will rather focus on hunting and defending the colony, and aren't really suitable for works like digging or nursing, because of their heavy and clumsy mandibles.

[Messorus]

Hm... each colony have her own colony pheromon scent.... By intensity of this scent, queen feel some information, about how many workers is colony big now. Than she will maybe lay egg with major. But now- she is able to lay, but it must be certain amount of workers, when queen will lay major´s egg. For example, Camponotus fallax usually have new borned major in colony when is amount of workers more than 15workers. If they got so many proteins, that they would feed major larva by them, the queen feel it and she will lay major egg. It´s because they have much food and the pheromon scent have the accurate intensity...
Majors in each genus and specie have sensibile life. In Pheidole it is usually for securiting of founded food, and fighting to other workers of adverse colonies.... In Camponotusinidae, majors usually have strong jaws, and they are making new nest space in the wood by them.... Messors are using majors like beaters of seeds, and they are carring heavy seeds to nest too.... Pheidologeton´s majors are killing the bigger insects and taking of potential barriers in the way to food....
This is some about majors...

Sorry from my very bad English, I have problems with Pasts and with using ,,the" in the sentence :(