Life Cycle
Ants develop by complete metamorphosis, going through stages of the egg, larva, pupa, and adult worker or reproductive. Larvae are maggot- like, and pupae reside in silk cocoons and are often mistaken for eggs. Commonly, a single queen, fertilized by a smaller short-lived male, will start a new colony, caring for her first brood of larvae until they develop into workers, which then begin to forage for food. Workers then care for the queen and ensuing brood. The colony will then continue to grow and populations may reach up to several thousand workers. Also, queenless satellite nests are often founded within 20 to 100 feet of a mature nest. Proximity of nests can lead to fighting among neighboring colonies.
A crustacean's life cycle begins with an egg, which is usually fertilized, but could be produced by parthenogenesis. The egg hatches into a pre-larva. Through a series of shedding, the young animal then passes through various stages of growth. This is followed by metamorphosis into an immature form, which broadly resembles the adult, and after further shedding, the adult form is finally reached.