wood ant
Mound-building forest dweller
Wood ants are large ants that build conspicuous mound nests from pine needles, twigs, and forest debris.
Found across Europe and parts of North America, they're aggressive defenders of their territory, spraying formic acid at intruders.
The mounds can reach several feet high and persist for decades: The trail passed an enormous wood ant nest.
Most powerful chess piece
- workersPeople doing jobs
- soldiersMilitary personnel who fight
- foragersThose seeking wild food
- nestAnimal-built shelter for young
brood · larvae · pupae · caste · mound · chambers · tunnels · swarm
Seeking wild food sources
- cooperationJoint action toward shared aims
- teamworkJoint effort toward shared aim
- recruitmentSeeking new personnel
- aggressionHostile or attacking behavior
defense · spraying · swarming · carrying · building · thatching · basking · thermoregulation
Organism breaking down corpses
- symbiosisInterspecies biological interdependence
- mutualismTwo-way biological benefit
- honeydewGreen-fleshed muskmelon variety
- seed dispersalTransport of plant embryos
prey · predator · food web · ecological niche · bioindicator · pest control · deadwood · leaf litter
Producing woody cones
- pineCone-bearing evergreen
- spruceNeat; also a conifer
- canopyOverhead protective covering
- clearingTreeless space in forest
undergrowth · tree stump · bark · needle · boreal · taiga · temperate · dappled light
Paired arthropod mouthparts
- exoskeletonExternal skeletal structure
- six-leggedHaving half-dozen appendages
- chitinArthropod shell polymer
- compound eyesMulti-lensed visual organs
thorax · abdomen · spiracles · tarsi · sting · glands · reddish-brown · arthropod
queen
Most powerful chess piece
nest · brood · larvae · pupae · caste · mound · chambers · tunnels · swarm · hierarchy
foraging
Seeking wild food sources
- cooperationJoint action toward shared aims
- teamworkJoint effort toward shared aim
- recruitmentSeeking new personnel
aggression · defense · spraying · swarming · carrying · building · thatching · basking · thermoregulation · raiding
decomposer
Organism breaking down corpses
- symbiosisInterspecies biological interdependence
- mutualismTwo-way biological benefit
- honeydewGreen-fleshed muskmelon variety
seed dispersal · prey · predator · food web · ecological niche · bioindicator · pest control · deadwood · leaf litter
coniferous
Producing woody cones
clearing · undergrowth · tree stump · bark · needle · boreal · taiga · temperate · dappled light · moss
mandibles
Paired arthropod mouthparts
- exoskeletonExternal skeletal structure
- six-leggedHaving half-dozen appendages
- chitinArthropod shell polymer
compound eyes · thorax · abdomen · spiracles · tarsi · sting · glands · reddish-brown · arthropod · invertebrate