No Kings

Well the next stage of the calendar pic is posted over on the Facebook group thanks to my beloved wife. You can also check it out on The Underground Comic forum over on the Dimestore site, thanks to the also lovely Chris Walker! This is pretty close to the finished product, as the only thing left to be completed is the colours, and I'm sure you're all going to be really pleased with the result.
While discussing different t-shirt possibilities over on the Dimestore site, Chris brought up an interesting point regarding Ant kings. For those of you who are all caught up on the Insect-O-Facts, you'll remember that most insect colonies (Ants included) are led by a Queen. So why then is this Ant King? And why would he be included in the Ant's Life Cycle Diagram? This sounds like a job for...
INSECT-O-FACT #11!!!!
"No Kings"
As many of us are aware, ant colonies are established, and nurtured by a queen. Often referred to as a Queen mother, because she literally births the whole colony. In creating The Underground, many true life facts have been interwoven into the fabric of the story. One such fact which we have been faced with is the existence of Kings AND Queens. The predicament is that Kings, at least in our traditional understanding of them, do NOT exist in insect colonies.
Where the Ants are concerned, the old saying 'King for a day' can certainly take precedence. The Queen is born with wings, and takes to the air for what is referred to as a 'mating flight'. Several male ants (also winged) will chase the Queen as she soars through the air. Finally one of the males will make contact with the queen, mate with her, and fall to the ground. While the male disappears after this point, the Queen will discard her wings and tend to her colony-to-be.
For the benefit of the story, and certain themes; Kings have played a role in The Underground. Now with this research in mind, the readers will find that any introduction of a 'King' is often short-lived...it simply is not meant to be.