<p>After her nuptual (copulatory) flight, the new queen will find a protected area on the outer regions of a tree. She chooses the outer regions probably because other queens may have chosen the same tree and the farther away they are from eachother the safer their brood are from the others' workers. The single queen is responsible for all the reproductive needs of the colony. She lays one hundred eggs per day, which are carried to brood piles to be cared for by the minor workers.<span> (Holldobler and Wilson, 1977; Holldobler and Wilson, 1990; Holldobler and Wilson, 1994; Tan, 2001; Wilson and Holldobler, 1980)</span></p>  <p><strong>Key Reproductive Features: </strong>Iteroparous; Year-round breeding; Sexual; Fertilization; Fertilization :: Internal; Oviparous; Sperm-storing; Delayed fertilization</p>  <p>Like all ants, the very first brood is cared for by the queen. She feeds the larvae regurgitated body fluids and unfertalized eggs, often losing up to 60% of her body weight in the process, as she will not leave her brood during this time to go out and forage. After the first workers develop, they take over brood care and the queen devotes the rest of her time and energy to egg laying. In addition to caring for eggs and larvae, workers care for the queen by feeding and cleaning her.</p>  <p>Although minor workers are the primary nursemaids, once the larvae reach their maximum size they are cared for equally by the major and minor workers.<span> (Holldobler and Wilson, 1990)</span></p>  <p><strong>Parental Investment: </strong>Pre-fertilization; Pre-fertilization :: Provisioning; Pre-fertilization :: Protecting; Pre-fertilization :: Protecting :: Female</p>