It’s June, just after a heavy rainfall, and the sky is filling with creatures we wouldn’t normally expect to find there. At first glance, this might be a disturbing sight. But for the lucky males and females of Solenopsis invicta, otherwise known as fire ants, it’s a day of romance.
Jun je i upravo je pala jaka kiša, i nebo se ispunjava bićima koja obično ne očekujemo da budu tu. Na prvi pogled, moglo bi da se radi o uznemirujućem prizoru. Međutim, za srećne mužjake i ženke Solenopsis invicte, koje inače znamo kao vatrene mrave, danas je dan za romansu.
This is the nuptial flight, when thousands of reproduction-capable male and female ants, called alates, take wing for the first and last time. But even for successful males who manage to avoid winged predators, this mating frenzy will prove lethal. And for a successfully mated female, her work is only beginning.
Radi se o svadbenom letu, kada na hiljade reproduktivno sposobnih mužjaka i ženki mrava, koji se nazivaju dronovima, poleću prvi i poslednji put. Međutim, čak i za uspešne mužjake koji uspeju da izbegnu krilate grabljivice, ove bahanalije parenja će da budu smrtonosne. A za uspešno oplođenu ženku, njen posao tek počinje.
Having secured a lifetime supply of sperm from her departed mate, our new queen must now single-handedly start an entire colony. Descending to the ground, she searches for a suitable spot to build her nest. Ideally, she can find somewhere with loose, easy-to-dig soil— like farmland already disturbed by human activity. Once she finds the perfect spot, she breaks off her wings— creating the stubs that establish her royal status. Then, she starts digging a descending tunnel ending in a chamber. Here the queen begins laying her eggs, about ten per day, and the first larvae hatch within a week. Over the next three weeks, the new queen relies on a separate batch of unfertilized eggs to nourish both herself and her brood, losing half her body weight in the process. Thankfully, after about 20 days, these larvae grow into the first generation of workers, ready to forage for food and sustain their shrunken queen.
Obezbedivši doživotne zalihe sperme od svog preminulog partnera, naša nova matica sada mora sama da osnuje čitavu koloniju. Spustivši se na tlo, ona traga za odgovarajućim mestom za izgradnju svog gnezda. Idealno bi bilo da nađe meku zemlju koju je lako kopati - poput obrađene zemlje koju je već poremetila ljudska aktivnost. Čim pronađe savršeno mesto, čupa svoja krila - stvarajući ispupčenja koja uspostavljaju njen plemićki status. Potom ona počinje da kopa podzemni tunel koji se završava odajom. Ovde matica počinje da nosi jaja, oko deset dnevno, a prve larve se legu u roku od jedne nedelje. Tokom naredne tri nedelje, nova matica se oslanja na posebnu seriju neoplođenih jaja kako bi hranila sebe i svoje potomstvo, gubeći polovinu telesne težine tokom tog procesa. Srećom, nakon dvadesetak dana, ove larve odrastaju u prvu generaciju radnika, spremnih da tragaju za hranom i održavaju svoju omršavelu maticu.
Her daughters will have to work quickly though— returning their mother to good health is urgent. In the surrounding area, dozens of neighboring queens are building their own ant armies. These colonies have peacefully coexisted so far, but once workers appear, a phenomenon known as brood-raiding begins. Workers from nests up to several meters away begin to steal offspring from our queen. Our colony retaliates, but new waves of raiders from even further away overwhelm the workers. Within hours, the raiders have taken our queen’s entire brood supply to the largest nearby nest— and the queen’s surviving daughters abandon her. Chasing her last chance of survival, the queen follows the raiding trail to the winning nest. She fends off other losing queens and the defending nest’s workers, fighting her way to the top of the brood pile. Her daughters help their mother succeed where other queens fail— defeating the reigning monarch, and usurping the brood pile. Eventually, all the remaining challengers fail, until only one queen— and one brood pile— remains.
Njene kćerke moraju, pak, brzo da rade - hitno je povratiti dobro zdravlje majke. U blizini, desetine susednih matica grade sopstvene mravlje armije. Ove kolonije su do sada mirno živele jedne blizu drugih, međutim, čim se pojave radnici, pojava poznata kao pohara potomaka počinje. Radnici iz gnezda udaljenih i do nekoliko metara počinju da kradu mlade našoj matici. Naša kolonija se sveti, međutim, novi talasi napadača sa još veće udaljenosti savladavaju radnike. Za nekoliko sati, napadači su uzeli celokupnu zalihu potomaka od naše matice i odneli ih u obližnje gnezdo - a matičine preživele kćerke je napuštaju. Koristeći poslednju šansu za opstanak, matica prati stazu napadača do pobedničkog gnezda. Odbija napade drugih matica gubitnica kao i radnika čuvara gnezda, probijajući se do vrha hrpe potomaka. Njene kćerke pomažu majci da uspe tamo gde druge matice nisu - da porazi vladajuću kraljicu i preuzme hrpu potomaka. Vremenom, svi ostali izazivači gube, sve dok samo jedna matica - i jedna hrpa potomaka - ostane.
Now presiding over several hundred workers in the neighborhood’s largest nest, our victorious queen begins aiding her colony in its primary goal: reproduction. For the next several years, the colony only produces sterile workers. But once their population exceeds about 23,000, it changes course. From now on, every spring, the colony will produce fertile alate males and females. The colony spawns these larger ants throughout the early summer, and returns to worker production in the fall. After heavy rainfalls, these alates take to the skies, and spread their queen’s genes up to a couple hundred meters downwind.
Sada, predsedavajući nekoliko stotina radnika u susednom najvećem gnezdu, naša pobednička matica počinje da pomaže koloniji u njenom primarnom cilju: razmnožavanju. U narednih nekoliko godina, kolonija jedino proizvodi sterilne radnike. Međutim, čim im populacija premaši oko 23 000 jedinki, menjaju smer. Od sad, svakog proleća kolonija će da proizvodi plodne dronove mužjake i ženke. Kolonija izleže ove krupnije mrave tokom ranog leta i vraća se proizvodnji radnika tokom jeseni. Nakon jakih kiša, ovi dronovi kreću ka nebesima i šire gene svoje matice i do nekoliko stotina metara niz vetar.
But to contribute to this annual mating frenzy, the colony must continue to thrive as one massive super-organism. Every day, younger ants feed the queen and tend to the brood, while older workers forage for food and defend the nest. When intruders strike, these older warriors fend them off using poisonous venom. After rainfalls, the colony comes together, using the wet dirt to expand their nest. And when a disastrous flood drowns their home, the sisters band together into a massive living raft— carrying their queen to safety.
Međutim, kako bi doprinela ovim godišnjim bahanalijama parenja, kolonija mora da nastavi da bude uspešna kao jedan ogromni superorganizam. Svakog dana, mladi mravi hrane maticu i paze na potomstvo, dok stariji radnici tragaju za hranom i brane gnezdo. Kada uljezi napadnu, ovi stariji ratnici ih odbijaju upotrebom otrova. Nakon kiša, kolonija se sakuplja, koristeći vlažnu zemlju da proširi gnezdo. A kada razorne poplave potope njihov dom, sestre se spajaju i stvaraju ogroman živi splav - koji nosi njihovu maticu na bezbedno mesto.
But no matter how resilient, the life of a colony must come to an end. After about 8 years, our queen runs out of sperm and can no longer replace dying workers. The nest’s population dwindles, and eventually, they’re taken over by a neighboring colony. Our queen’s reign is over, but her genetic legacy lives on.
Međutim, bez obzira na njenu otpornost, život kolonije mora da se okonča. Nakon oko osam godina, našoj matici ponestaje sperme i ona više ne može da nadomesti izumrle radnike. Populacija u gnezdu se osipa i vremenom ih preuzima susedna kolonija. Vladavina naše matice je gotova, ali njeno genetsko nasleđe opstaje.