worker ants
Hive's busy females
Worker ants are the sterile female members of an ant colony that perform most of its labor—foraging, nest building, caring for larvae, and defending the queen.
They make up the vast majority of any colony's population.
The term extends figuratively to people who do unglamorous essential work: The worker ants in the office keep everything running while executives take credit.
- colonyDependent territorial settlement
- foragingSeeking wild food sources
- tunnelsUnderground hollow pathways
- mandiblesPaired arthropod mouthparts
- pheromonesSpecies-specific chemical messengers
swarm · soldiers · scurrying · nest · industrious · tireless · excavating · carrying · heavy lifting · leafcutter · tiny · exoskeleton · trail · single file · cooperative · instinct · hive · food chain