How do queen/workers ants determine what caste an ant larva will become?

Question

Fertilized bee eggs become female bees, with diet determining the queen, and unfertilized eggs are male, but how do ants make up to 9 different castes?

Answer 1

i've been under the impression that since ants are also hymenoptera, social hierarchy is determined by colony individuals (by differential diet)--i mean, after the whole unfertilized/fertilized egg laying by the queen. funny, the "queen" is a slave to her colony.