Overview
- Researchers used 3D X-ray scans across more than 500 species to quantify cuticle and body volumes.
- Cuticle investment ranged from roughly 6% to 35% of body volume across the sampled ants.
- Species with thinner exoskeletons tended to form larger colonies, indicating a quantity-over-quality strategy.
- Lower per-worker cuticle investment was also associated with higher diversification rates over evolutionary time.
- Authors propose that collective foraging, nest defense and disease control can buffer weaker individuals, though the evidence is correlational and mechanisms remain to be tested in other social insects.