The Great Unknown
Biologists have yet to determine the maximum lifespan of an ant queen. They live an extremely long time, do not sit in captivity (they, and the colony, will die), and they are difficult to monitor because they are constantly getting relocated. The oldest queen ant ever captured was roughly 30 years old.
The Mitochondrial Mother
Mitochondria are only passed down to you from your mother, so in theory, there was once a master mitochondria mother. We cannot know this for absolute certain, but scientists have been able to trace the mitochondria back to Eastern Africa.
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