in the case of most ants, a single fertile queen monopolises reproduction while the workers build the nest, nurse the offspring and forage for food. In some cases the nests built are quite elaborate and offer good protection from various environmental factors such as heat and floods. Sometimes, the nest represents such a heavy investment of time and effort that it seems a pity to abandon it after the death of the queen. Fortunately the queens in many species are fairly long-lived.

However, in the case of ants with expensive nests and short-lived queens, the problem has found two different solutions. In the genera Formica and Camponotus , daughter queens returning after mating are accepted into their mothers' nests so that they can continue to use the painstakingly-built nest. On the other hand, the Indian ponerine ant Harpegnathus saltator , being studied by Peters and H