They took 20 species of ant and estimated the sex ratio in terms of investment in reproductives. They found a rather convincingly close fit to the 3:1 female to male ratio predicted by the theory that the workers are running the show for their own benefit.* It seems then that in the ants studied, the conflict of interests is ‘won’ by the workers. This is not too surprising since worker bodies, being the guardians of the nurseries, have more power in practical terms than queen bodies.
