Gyne in the context of "Queen ant"

Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of 22,000 species have been classified. They are easily identified by their geniculate (elbowed) antennae and the distinctive node-like structure that forms their slender waists.

Ants form colonies that range in size from a few dozen individuals often living in small natural cavities to highly organised colonies that may occupy large territories with a sizeable nest (or nests) that consist of millions of individuals, in some cases they reach hundreds of millions of individuals in super colonies. Typical colonies consist of various castes of sterile, wingless females, most of which are workers (ergates), as well as soldiers (dinergates) and other specialised groups. Nearly all ant colonies also have some fertile males called "drones" and one or more fertile females called "queens" (gynes). The colonies are described as superorganisms because the ants appear to operate as a unified entity, collectively working together to support the colony.

An ant supercolony is an exceptionally large ant colony, consisting of a high number of spatially separated but socially connected nests of a single ant species (meaning that the colony is polydomous), spread over a large area without territorial borders. Supercolonies are typically polygynous, containing many egg-laying females (queens or gynes). Workers and queens from different nests within the same supercolony can freely move among the nests, and all workers cooperate indiscriminately with each other in collecting food and care of the brood, and show no apparent mutual aggressive behavior.

As long as suitable unoccupied space with sufficient resources is available, supercolonies expand continuously through budding, as queens together with some workers migrate over short distances and establish a new connected nest. The supercolony can also expand over long distances through jump-dispersal, potentially ranging between continents. Jump-dispersal usually occurs unintentionally through human-mediated transport. A striking example of an ant species forming supercolonies across continents is the Argentine ant (Linepithema humile). The also highly invasive red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta) and Solenopsis geminata additionally use classic mating flights, thus using three primary modes of dispersal. Out of some 14,000 described ant species, supercolonialism is found in less than 1% of all ants.

A queen bee is typically an adult, mated female (gyne) that lives in a colony or hive of honey bees. With fully developed reproductive organs, the queen is usually the mother of most, if not all, of the bees in the beehive. Queens are developed from larvae selected by worker bees and specially fed in order to become sexually mature. There is normally only one adult, mated queen in a hive, in which case the bees will usually follow and fiercely protect her.

The term "queen bee" can be more generally applied to any dominant reproductive female in a colony of a eusocial bee species other than honey bees. However, as in the Brazilian stingless bee (Schwarziana quadripunctata), a single nest may have multiple queens or even dwarf queens, ready to replace a dominant queen in case of a sudden death.