

Here is the story of how I found the nanitic. I have been eagerly having a quick look all week. In the night of day 54, I took a random look into Scar Smile’s tube and saw that she was tending her first nanitic!
Nanitics are a queen ant’s first workers, and Scar Smile is a prime example of a queen with nanitics. The reason that the nanitic is light-colored is that its exoskeleton has not hardened yet, but they harden over a few days. The nanitics are not as strong as the main workers because the nanitics, in fully claustral species anyway, are raised off of the queen’s fat reserves from her back wing muscles that she used during her mating flight.

Onetenna has no nanitics today, but I noticed her gaster is re-expanding. This is likely because she is getting ready to lay more eggs. Onetenna’s pupae have slightly darker eyes than last week, so she will probably have nanitics next week.