You searched for: “polygyny
polygyny
1. The practice of having many female mates.
2. The mating of a single male with several females.
3. The presence of many queens within a single colony of social insects.
Word Entries at Get Words: “polygyny
polygyny
The coexistence in the same colony of two or more egg-laying queens; as opposed to monogyny.

When multiple queens found (setup) a colony together, the situation is referred to as primary polygyny. When supplementary queens are added after a colony's foundation, the condition is referred to as secondary polygyny.

The co-existence of only two or a few additional queens is sometimes called oligogyny.

This entry is located in the following unit: Ant and Related Entomology Terms (page 16)