Data from: Royal Darwinian demons: enforced changes in reproductive efforts do not affect the life expectancy of ant queens

One of the central tenets of life-history theory is that organisms cannot simultaneously maximize all fitness components. This results in the fundamental trade-off between reproduction and lifespan known from numerous animals including humans. Social insects are a well-known exception to this rule: reproductive queens outlive non-reproductive workers. Here, we take a step forward and show that under identical social and environmental condition the fecundity / longevity trade-off is absent also within the queen caste. A change in reproduction did not alter life expectancy, and even a strong enforced increase in reproductive efforts did not result in a reduction of residual lifespan. Generally, egg laying rate and lifespan were positively correlated. Queens of perennial social insects thus seem to maximize at the same time two fitness parameters that are normally negatively correlated. Even though they are not immortal they best approach a hypothetical "Darwinian Demon" in the
animal kingdom.