Pretenders to the Throne

Like some other ant species, Dinoponera quadriceps is notable for not having a queen caste. Instead, there is a strict hierarchy of female workers in a colony, with the highest ranking -- the alpha female -- doing all the reproducing.

But just because there are no queens doesn't mean there is no palace intrigue among the species, found mostly in South America. Far from it. Researchers have found that sometimes a pretender to the alpha female's dominance appears. In response, the top ant acts like a queen, marking the pretender for punishment and letting her subjects do the dirty work.

Researchers at the University of Sheffield and the University of Keele in England studied the ant colonies (also notable for being the largest known -- over an inch in length) and described their work in the journal Nature.

Colonies generally average about 80 female workers, with five or so ranking highest and having a clear hierarchy among them. (Males do the ant equivalent of sitting around drinking beer; they play no real role in the life of the colony, though one of them mates with the alpha.)