Page 118 - The Miracle in the Ant

Above are ants
during nuptial
flight. On the
left are seen fe-
male ants be-
fore the nuptial
flight.

Yes, each queen ant has a sperm bank in her body. After receiving
the ejaculate from the male, the queen stores it in an oval bag located
near the tip of her abdomen. In this organ, called the spermatheca, the
individual sperm are physiologically inactivated, and they can remain in
suspended animation for years. When at last the queen lets them back
out into her reproductive tract, either one at a time or in small groups,
they become agile again and ready to fertilize the egg passing down the
79
tract from the ovaries. This means that the sperm bank which has come
into use over the last 25 years through high technology, has been used
by the ants since time immemorial.
This mechanism of which, until 50 years ago, human beings had not
the slightest inkling, has been used by ants for millions of years. Since

118 THE MIRACLE IN THE ANT
Kar›nca Mucizesi