slave ant


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slave ant

n.
An ant captured and raised as a worker by slave-making ants.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

slave ant

n
(Animals) any of various ants, esp Formica fusca, captured and forced to do the work of a colony of ants of another species (slave-making ants). See also amazon ant
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.slave ant - any of various ants captured as larvae and enslaved by another species
ant, emmet, pismire - social insect living in organized colonies; characteristically the males and fertile queen have wings during breeding season; wingless sterile females are the workers
Formica fusca - an ant frequently enslaved
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
References in periodicals archive ?
The "chief family" of slave-making ants (owners) is called "The Shining" because their bodies "shine with a gloss like varnish." A well-orchestrated slave ant society is comprised of several central roles: the slave-makers, the masters, and the slaves themselves.
This presumably reduces the strength of the parasites in the area and thereby increases the chances of survival for the neighboring colonies populated by the slave ants' relatives.
When I watered, or stirred up topsoil with a stick, I discovered hundreds of slave ants frantically pushing others that had grown posh white wings into crevices and cracks for their safety.