HOME | DD

Description
5 million years from now, corvids evolve a eusocial structure similar to ants, bees, and termites. Tentatively, the new species has been placed in extant genus *Corvus*.

The castes are determined by a complex interaction of hormones and pheromones (the latter produced in the Harderian gland), which is still being researched to this day. The male workers are chiselers, convergent with woodpeckers who drill tunnels out of trees both to obtain insect prey and expand the nest; occasionally they may also skim water for small fish. The female workers are collectors, who hunt insects, gather seeds and nuts, and build the outward parts of the nests. Both groups of workers may take care of the egg chamber. The female soldier, whose beak is modified like a bird of prey, defends the colony, scavenges for carcasses and also hunts small vertebrate kills such as rodents and lizards. Workers bring back the kills. The male drone duels other drones and mates with the queen, unless banished from the colony; banished drones will raid conspecific colonies. The queen is of course the leader of the hive-nest, protected at all costs, and lays the eggs.

Communication is more by sound than by pheromone, in a significant contrast with eusocial insects. Due to the increased intelligence of birds compared to colonial insects, the queen is actually able to directly command the colony using a system of caws, jeers, and other sounds produced in the syrinx. The network of connected nests is still mostly self-organizing, however.

Like in bumblebees, adaptation to eusociality is incomplete, and mutiny is possible. In case of mutiny, the largest female soldier becomes the queen and undergoes rapid physical changes.

Description
5 million years from now, corvids evolve a eusocial structure similar to ants, bees, and termites. Tentatively, the new species has been placed in extant genus *Corvus*.

The castes are determined by a complex interaction of hormones and pheromones (the latter produced in the Harderian gland), which is still being researched to this day. The male workers are chiselers, convergent with woodpeckers who drill tunnels out of trees both to obtain insect prey and expand the nest; occasionally they may also skim water for small fish. The female workers are collectors, who hunt insects, gather seeds and nuts, and build the outward parts of the nests. Both groups of workers may take care of the egg chamber. The female soldier, whose beak is modified like a bird of prey, defends the colony, scavenges for carcasses and also hunts small vertebrate kills such as rodents and lizards. Workers bring back the kills. The male drone duels other drones and mates with the queen, unless banished from the colony; banished drones will raid conspecific colonies. The queen is of course the leader of the hive-nest, protected at all costs, and lays the eggs.

Communication is more by sound than by pheromone, in a significant contrast with eusocial insects. Due to the increased intelligence of birds compared to colonial insects, the queen is actually able to directly command the colony using a system of caws, jeers, and other sounds produced in the syrinx. The network of connected nests is still mostly self-organizing, however.

Like in bumblebees, adaptation to eusociality is incomplete, and mutiny is possible. In case of mutiny, the largest female soldier becomes the queen and undergoes rapid physical changes.