What are the three castes in an ant colony?

In an ant colony, there are three primary castes that serve distinct roles: Workers, Queens, and Males.

Workers are the non-reproductive females responsible for foraging for food, caring for the queen's offspring, building and maintaining the nest, and performing defense duties. They are the backbone of the colony, ensuring its survival and functionality.

Queens are the reproductive females who are primarily tasked with laying eggs. In many ant species, the queen will mate once and store sperm for her lifetime, allowing her to produce multiple generations of ants.

Males, often referred to as drones, primarily exist to mate with the queen during the nuptial flight. After mating, males typically die shortly thereafter, as their primary function is to ensure the continuation of the population.

The other options incorrectly represent the castes within an ant colony by including non-existent roles like soldiers or larvae as castes. Soldiers are specialized workers in some ant species but do not constitute a separate caste alongside workers and queens. Larvae, on the other hand, are the juvenile stages of ants and do not fulfill a caste role in the social structure. Therefore, the inclusion of Workers, Queens, and Males accurately captures the essential structure of ant colonies.