It has been found that large blue butterflies are three times less likely to survive in nests that have queen ants present. This discovery has been explained with a theory called the "queen effect". In most Myrmica nests, the queen ant will lay two main batches of eggs, and the females that hatch from these eggs will either become workers or virgin queens. Whether these females become workers or virgin queens is dependent on the status of the queen in the nest. If the queen dies, worker ants have the largest of the female larvae transition into virgin queens. If the queen is present and healthy, she influences the nurse workers to neglect, starve and bite the female larvae which results in restricted growth and aids in the transition to workers. This indicates that Phengaris butterflies must maintain a strict balance between mimicking the queen in the presence of workers and appearing to be a worker to avoid the queen.
