Support for the theory that large colonies perform less brood care:

proportional allocation of workers to tasks shifted with
colony size, suggesting that task needs or priorities depend,
in part, on colony size alone.

In addition to dividing labor among workers and tasks,
social insect colonies face the challenge of allocating their
workforces to satisfy changing colony needs. We found
variation in colony size to cause a shift in the overall pattern
of task allocation. On a per capita basis, large colonies
performed less brood care, more food processing, and more
waste management than small colonies. In contrast, colony
size did not affect the proportional allocation of workers to
allogrooming, foraging, or total outside-nest activity.

effects were found when each task was analyzed as a proportion
of the colony’s total task performance, thus
controlling for variation in overall activity; large colonies
allocated relatively more labor to food processing 
and waste management, and relatively less to brood care, 
with no significant differences in allogrooming.

Holbrook, C. T., Eriksson, T. H., Overson, R. P., Gadau, J., & Fewell, J. H. (2013). Colony-size effects on task organization in the harvester ant Pogonomyrmex californicus. Insectes Sociaux, 1-11.
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