What natural factors could possibly push a species of eusocial insects to become intelligent?

So, I am working on a species called the Vosians, who hail from the planet Vos. They are a species of eusocial insectoids, much like Earth ants.

Biology

The Vosians are about 3 feet tall, or 0.9 meters. The average weight for an adult is 90 lbs, though the queen can be 7 feet tall, and weight 600 lbs. The average lifespan for a Vosian is 40 years, and for the queen it is 130. Vosians are divided into 5 castes, which are all necessary for the species to work.

• Workers

• Overseers

• Protectors

• Princes/princesses

• Queen

They communicate by dance, and live in many great hives across the planet Vos. The Queen is always surrounded by an entourage of 6,000 protectors at a time, and lays about 3 million eggs a day. Vos, the planet they inhabit, is a dryer world, with no major oceans only seas. The Vosians are often seen by humans as a great pest in the galaxy, as they reproduce quickly. They have not invented their own version of FTL travel yet, and rely on investors to do any colonization. It is a great planet for outsourcing of labor, as Vos's Queen only wants a payment of 5 million credits a year.

Sorry to get so sidetracked back there, but back to my question. So, as you guys know, most insects are dumber than bricks and are evolutionary dead ends that will never progress. Vosians are a major plot element, and so can I ask: What natural factors would allow an insect species to become intelligent?

posted over 6 years ago

Justin‭

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