Now the queen devotes herself to egg-laying while the workers forage, care for the young, and enlarge the nest. This stage, which centers on colony growth lasts for a period ranging from four months to five years, depending on the species of ant. When the colony is a suitable size, it finally enters into the last stage, the reproductive stage. Now new queens and males are produced, which later leave the nest to produce new colonies, beginning the cycle again. Ants exemplify many behaviors and phenomena which are common to other insect species.
Ants are of extreme importance in the insect world.
They have complex and often obligatory relationships with various plants, which depend on the ants for their wellbeing. These include seed dispersal, pollination, defense by ants against attacks by herbivores, and enrichment of soil through soil turning. Ants also contribute substantially to the enormous biodiversity of insects, and their richly complex lives and relationships have provided scientists with numerous insights concerning evolutionary and ecological phenomena. A large number of ants have been perfectly preserved in amber. By observing this clear fossil record, much can be found out about ant evolution, such as the evolution of ants from a primitive form of wasp.