Cleaner ant (SciiFii)

The cleaner ant (Ancyloformica urocidella) is a species of 4.5-9 mm long ant, most closely related to wood ants (Formica), that originally did not exist, but has since been created by SciiFii and introduced throughout the world except the polar zones to help boost biodiversity. The cleaner ant has a symbiotic relationship with birds, scansoriopterygids, pterosaurs, and flying mammals, with the cleaner ants cleaning and spraying the flying vertebrates in exchange for being able to feed on the parasites, similarly to the cleaner wrasses and cleaner shrimp from the oceans. Due to the cleaner ants' specialization, the cleaner ants are aggressive towards unrelated nests within their territory since they compete for the "customers" that the nest relies on in order to survive. The cleaner ants have considerably smaller colonies than the wood ants, with the average colony consisting of about 6,000 individuals, since the food they gather from cleaning other animals isn't enough to support a large colony, but enables them to survive in areas where other ants wouldn't find anything to eat. The worker cleaner ants are winged, with 10 mm across, in order to be able to fly to display areas, and to be able to reach all areas of their "customers". Their visions is superior compared to that of their relatives. About 20% of the workers are slightly smaller and wingless as they stay inside the nest, repair the tunnels, and take care of the larvae. The soldier castes of the cleaner ants have large mandibles and is about twice as big as the workers. Their main use is to guard and defend the nest against intruders. Workers will carry soldiers with them when launching an attack towards a hostile colony due to their superior fighting ability. The cleaner ant queen resides deep in the nest, surround by soldiers and attending workers. Due to her enlarged abdomen, she is unable to move around the nest and depends on the workers to bring her food and protect her. Just like the queens of other ant species, a nest can contain several queens, with newly mated queens returning to the nests they hatched from or starting a new colony nearby. Swarming occurs once per year in warm areas, but take place only every second year in colder areas. Colonies living in colder areas hibernate through the winter. The queen cleaner ants may live over 20 years, while workers and soldiers only live for a few months. The conservation status of the cleaner ant is Least Concern due to successful conservation efforts, the cleaner ant's wide range and its tolerance to many of the human activities.
Category:Animals
Category:Species
Category:SciiFii