Ants

An **Ant** is an entity capable of being a part of and supporting a Team. Obviously, they are the main part of the game. Ants are capable of doing basic tasks, such as picking up Food, harvesting Meat from carcasses, eating, feeding the queen and other ants, and fighting.

* The Alate, which starts a new nest, costs 4 Red Food. It only spawns at the beginning of the game. Abilities : Flight, travel, creating an Anthill.
* The Queen, which creates brood and allows the colony to stay alive, can't be created - spawns when an Alate creates a nest. Abilities : brood laying, egg control, movement, attack, eating.
* The Nanitic costs two green Food each. The most basic unit of a colony, they are fast but also small and deal the least amount of damage.
* The Worker, which gathers Food and fights, costs 1 green Food and 1 Meat. They are the average size and damage of a colony, and usually the body of any army.
* The Soldier, whose main purpose is to fight, costs 1 Super Food, 2 Meat. These larger workers deal impressive damage. However, agility is lacking.
* The Major, which is the late game alternative to soldiers, costs 2 Super Food, 2 Meat. This ultimate weapon of war deals the most damage, has a unique body, and is the slowest ant in a colony.
* The Acid Ant, shoots acid at enemies, Costs 1 Green Food, 1 Meat, 2 Super Food

Each of these ants play a role in the colony. To learn more about their types themselves, see Types.

## Occupation

Ants can be occupied or unoccupied. An ant will be occupied whenever a Player waiting to be born randomly selects the ant. The Player will then inhabit the ant and be able to control it, therefore occupying it. The name of the Player will be visible on top of the ant, and the Player will also be able to chat in that specific area. Unoccupied ants will instead be controlled by AI, which will respond to commands, do basic nest jobs, gather Food, and fight automatically. To see more about exactly how AI ants work, see Ant AI. Only occupied ants can pick up dirt or use or pick up Stick Pile and Water Droplets. Only Team leaders can switch into the queen after the change on 8/9/2021 as shown in the change log.

## Teams

Ants are always a part of a Team. The only exception is when you create brood in Sandbox. However, for that brood to hatch, it must be then claimed by a Team. To learn more about claiming, see Claiming. Ants will never attack other ants in the same Team; it is impossible to damage them. Ants will be able to claim Food or brood for the colony by picking them up, unless the item has already been claimed for the colony.

## Ants

### Label

An Ant Carrying Dirt.

Ants have the ability to pick up an item, carrying it in their jaws. Additionally, an ant has a social stomach which can store any Food except Super Food or Red Food. You are not able to take Food manually out of the social stomach. You must instead use the Food on an ant with Hunger, wait till it automatically gets used on your own Hunger, or feed it to the queen to make eggs. Any Food in the social stomach is still claimed by the Team. Ants also have the ability to pick up Dirt from underground. To dispose of it, you can either place it back down somewhere else Underground, or place it in the Overground, where it simply disappears. The Queen ant does not have a social stomach. When an an ant drops a Stick Pile or a Water Droplet, it gets used instead, reducing or increasing the moisture content by 50% (for more info on this, see Tiles). Aphids can also be picked up, allowing you to move them closer to your nest.

## Dead ant

### Label

A Dead Ant.

All ants have health, and whenever the health is less than or equal to 0, they die. In the case of when the Queen dies, the entire Team also dies. Every type of ant has its own health. To learn more about what happens when Player ants die, see Death.

## Notes

* The Food that appears on top of a dead ant's body is the food that was in its social stomach.