ant fact archive

Krzysztof Grzybacz, Yellow, 2025

Krzysztof Grzybacz

Yellow
2025
oil on canvas
200×160 cm
courtesy of the artist and Consonni Radziszewski

Ant colonies alternate between periods of growth105 and reproduction,106 like perennial flowers.107, 108

  • The colony grows by expanding the nest and creating asexual workers.
  • In the reproductive phase, winged males and females are born; the colony blooms.
  • Ants in certain climates retreat underground during winter; the colony wilts.
  • Hölldobler & Wilson, 1990, 157