Who is 4.5 years old, has 600 daughters and 500 eggs ready to go for spring?

This queen carpenter ant. I’ve known this bug longer than some people— and I like her better.

@futurebird Lovely girl!

Do queens ever run out of sperm?

@michaelgemar

Yes! That happened to my Pogonomyrmex queen a year back and she started laying eggs that grew up to be sons. It was kind of sad since it meant the colony was over.

She must not have mated enough? Or maybe she got sick.

She was only two years old. Normally it takes much longer for that to happen.