nestmate
Shares your home
A nestmate is an animal that shares a nest with another, most often used for social insects like ants, bees, or termites that live together in a colony.
The term appears in biology and entomology to distinguish colony members from outsiders: Ants recognize nestmates by chemical signals on their bodies.
Insect colony's earthen home
- hiveBee dwelling structure
- swarmMass of moving insects
- queenMost powerful chess piece
- workerPerson who toils
drone · brood · colony · insect · bee · ant · wasp · termite
Splitting tasks among workers
- eusocialCooperative breeding with castes
- altruismPrioritizing others' wellbeing
- collective behaviorUnified group conduct patterns
- nursingMedical caretaking profession
foraging · defending · building · provisioning · communal · coordinated · symbiosis · mutualism
anthill
Insect colony's earthen home
worker · drone · brood · colony · insect · bee · ant · wasp · termite · caste
division of labor
Splitting tasks among workers
- eusocialCooperative breeding with castes
- altruismPrioritizing others' wellbeing
- collective behaviorUnified group conduct patterns
nursing · foraging · defending · building · provisioning · communal · coordinated · symbiosis · mutualism
pheromone
Behavior-altering bodily secretion
acceptance · rejection · grooming · guard · patrol