The colony runs on Food, Materials, ants and Royal Jelly.
Food
Foragers bring in Food. Every ant eats, and Food also feeds the Brood Chamber. If it runs out, see Starvation below.
Materials
Builders bring in Materials, which pay for buildings and research gates.
Ants
The Founding Chamber sets how many ants the colony can hold and the Brood Chamber hatches new ones.
Royal Jelly
Royal Jelly is the rare currency. The queen makes 6 a day on her own (banking up to 3 days' worth; tap the jelly drop over the nest to collect it), and it also comes from the daily gift, quests, achievements, the Codex, events and activities.
Starvation
At zero Food, births stop and production drops 25%. After 5 minutes, 1% of the colony starves each minute, capped at 20% online and 10% offline. The queen never dies.
Bonus stacking
Bonuses of the same kind add together, and different kinds multiply. Two +10% Food bonuses make +20% Food; a +20% Food bonus and a +50% all-production bonus make 1.2 × 1.5 = 1.8 times as much Food.