- A rare ant species, Temnothorax kinomurai, endemic to Japan, has been confirmed as the only known ant species to lack both workers and males, consisting exclusively of queens.
- For nearly four decades, researchers suspected this unique characteristic, and a new study now provides the first definitive proof.
- The parasitic ant reproduces asexually through parthenogenesis, meaning its queens produce clones of themselves from unfertilised eggs.
- Temnothorax kinomurai also exhibits parasitic behaviour, tricking workers of a closely related species, Temnothorax makora, into killing their own queen and subsequently rearing the parasitic ant's offspring.
- Scientists confirmed these findings by collecting colonies, breeding 43 queen offspring in laboratory conditions, and observing the absence of males and the asexual reproductive process.
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