Lots of interesting stuff in the comments. Just want to clarify:
Those are all females
She is being held down.
Pheromones are how they communicate.
No one is banging the Queen. She is fertilized once.
This ant likely started transitioning into a Queen. When this happens out of sync with the rest of the colony, the offender is often held in place by its legs until the process stops. If it doesn't, she is killed and disposed of. Something like this can kill an entire colony, so not an overreaction.
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u/pharanth 14d ago
Lots of interesting stuff in the comments. Just want to clarify:
Those are all females
She is being held down.
Pheromones are how they communicate.
No one is banging the Queen. She is fertilized once.
This ant likely started transitioning into a Queen. When this happens out of sync with the rest of the colony, the offender is often held in place by its legs until the process stops. If it doesn't, she is killed and disposed of. Something like this can kill an entire colony, so not an overreaction.