Imperial ants

Imperial ants are a race of giant social insects that inhabit mound cities that together compose the insect empire.
The ants are composed of many different subspecies whose traits are used by the whole for their unique abilities. Imperial ants have a caste system, they have access to certain technologies of their own, such as construction vehicles, firearms, elaborate architecture, personal flight gear, farming, as well as a form of radio communication.
== History ==
Though to have originated from a successful slaver ant colony that incorporated many subspecies of ants for their beneficial traits.
== Common biological traits ==
They have two stomachs, a personal one and a social one they can regurgitate at will to feed others.
=== Trophallaxis ===
Mouth to mouth transfer of food or fluids.
Form of communication between members of a species.
Used to transfer certain medicines, such as digestive enzymes in wood eating species of termites.
=== Trophobiosis ===
Symbiosis with food sources (such as aphids raised by ants).
=== Trophallexical ===
Formal communication
=== Pheromonal communication ===
People around ants with a sense of smell will have an inkling of what ants want to convey.
== Occupations ==
Ant empires are rarely homogeneous, and are composed of a myriad of ants, who are differentiated by their abilities and attributes.
=== Farmers ===
==== Lemon Gardeners ====
Lemon ants create Devil's gardens, forest area managed by a single ant colony that will destroy any plant type that they do not use.
==== Chrysobalanceae Gardeners ====
Allomerus ants use Chrysobalanaceae, a plant where ants live in pockets of 40 individuals, they cultivate a sticky fungus to capture prey. The ants live in honeycombed cylinders they attach to the plant's stems.
==== Fungus farmers ====
Attini ants farm fungus by collecting leaves to feed the fungus. They also Produce antimicrobials and anti fungal to protect their mushroom gardens. Ants farm fungus, yeasts, corals.
==== Harvester ants ====
Harvest seeds to store inside the nest, this causes their nest to sometimes be hidden by vegetation from the seeds sprouting. 
=== Carpenters ===
==== Weavers ====
Ant colonies that use their grubs to glue things together to form impermanent nests. Farmers use these ants to eat the pests in orchards, using rope networks to help expand their foraging grounds. Their eggs are also harvested routinely from nests for food. This subspecies is unique in that it wasn't forcefully conquered by the slaver ants but freed from their former slave masters.
==== Masons ====
Cut grass, live in massive subterranean cities, of which the spires tower above the ground. The heavily muscled cutters are a specialist in these nests who cut the leaves into precise sections, the transport ants then run to take the leaves back to a depot, and so on until the colony. The smallest are the fungi gardeners. 
==== Crafters ====
Use their grubs as glue guns, keeping plants together to create “work nests” to reduce travel time to safety. They also build bridges and roads this way.
==== Construction ====
Camponotus ants carve out colonies inside wood and trees but do not eat the wood.
=== Herders ===
==== Aphid farmers ====
Raise aphids for honeydew. The new queens leave the nest with aphid eggs to create their own. Some ants create special chambers for their herded livestock. They also use the aphids to clear out vegetation. Smaller species of ants will steal honeydew from each other, invariably leading to wars.
Honeydew is a common issue in diplomacy among insect empires.
==== Cattle herders ====
Ants raise mealyworms, pear suckers, hemiptera, leafhoppers, caterpillars, and will lead them to feed in the day, and back inside at night. Some ants maintain herds of trophobionts, and allow smaller species to come feed on the honeydew, in a rare form of diplomacy.
=== Soldiers ===
==== Bulldog ants ====
Have stingers, workers are also soldiers who produce infertile eggs as a food source.
==== Army ant ====
A single ant that, when the queen dies, is at the forefront of the mass evacuation of the nest to a new location. The trail left by the ants destroys everything in its path to feed the marching horde.
==== Dolichoderinae ====
Acid spewing ant, also emits a tear inducing gas.
=== Queens ===
==== Ponerine ants ====
No class system, when the queen dies, some workers will become fertile and they will all fight until the strongest takes control.
==== Spy queen ====
The queens attack worker ants from other nests until she builds up a pheromone disguise, she then enters the rival nest, and rules as a new supplementary queen.
==== Long legged ants ====
Some ants do attempt to become queens on their own, but the change in pheromones causes the other ants to arrest it, and if it doesn’t stop trying to lay eggs within three days, they will kill and eat the rebellious ant.
=== Specialists ===
==== Ascender ====
Can withstand hurricane winds and climb sheer surfaces.
==== Slave maker ====
Steal pupae to replenish work force from other nests.
==== Slavers ====
Polyergus ants enslave other ants to work for them.
==== Honeypot ====
Food banks of the colony, replete ants feed the colony during winter months.
==== Autothysis immobilizer ====
Feature greatly enlarged mandibular glands that run the entire length of the ant's body. They can release their contents suicidally, rupturing the ant's body and spraying sticky substances from the head. The gland, produces a glue. The glue bursts out and entangles and immobilizes all nearby victims. Some ants produce acid instead.
==== Autothysis melter ====
Like the immobilizer, they can release their contents suicidally, rupturing the ant's body and spraying toxic substance from the abdomen. The gland, produces acid.
== Society ==
They are an agrarian society, feeding on fungus, honeydew (used as a heating source to warm others), resin (used as an antibiotic against the harmful effects of the fungi).
The princes and princesses all congregate to the same area to breed, it is known as prince’s rest, as they all die there. The new queens then go establish their colonies.
Chemical communication is key the strength of the queens pheromones prevent workers from becoming fertile, should it fade, queens will emerge and succession takes place. This is the same from creating food and material highways to recruiting more workers. In case of loss of the chemical trail, ants will lead their loaded colleagues back to the nest (this is dangerous for the colony as the leaders become immune to the pheromone and become queens eventually.
=== Mounds ===
The Ant State is comprised of powerful led by queens and vast sprawling empires made up of many queens. These kingdoms and empires, known as colonies and supercolonies respectively, form complex social structures, go to war with one another, ally, and continue their expansionist goals.
The spires atop ant nests regulate the temperature, bring in fresh air or expel carbon dioxide.
The grass is disinfected before they are put in the fungus gardens
=== Tactics ===
They immobilize their opponents with their jaws and spray acid in the hopes of getting some under the armor, dissolving the enemy.
They use carnivorous pitcher plants as traps that they routinely collect food from. In return, the ants protect the plant from herbivores.
When a nest is compromised, first the ants shield the larva while others get them to safety from the sun or other threats, then they search for a new permanent home. The scouts make trails and a new colony is settled based on the strength of the chemical path.
Category:Other Races
Category:Insects
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Category:Unfinished articles
Category:Insect empires