soldier ants
Insect infantry defenders
Soldier ants are members of a colony specialized for defense.
Larger than workers, with powerful jaws or enlarged heads, they protect the nest from predators and rival colonies.
In army ant species, soldiers also guard the flanks of raiding columns.
The term extends metaphorically to aggressive defenders of any cause: The party's soldier ants attacked critics online.
- ant colonySocial insect community
- colonyDependent territorial settlement
- armyOrganized land-based military
- swarmMass of moving insects
- mandiblesPaired arthropod mouthparts
leafcutters · marching · marching orders · single file · invasion · nest · tunnels · fierce · organized · hive mind · raid · insects · anthill · pheromones · defensive · bite · bite force · exoskeleton
- antsfire ant, ant colony, carpenter ant, ant colonies, harvester ant
- colony behaviorswarming, foraging, division of labor, caste system, food storage
- leaf-cutter antsqueen, workers, minims, majors, ant colonies
- soil pestswireworm, grubs, white grub, wireworms, grub