space fir next slide lel -Myrmex (inspired by the myrmex from the ice and fire mod in minecraft) Myrmex are dixon's version of apex ants. giant, giant ants. they are surprisingly effective at digging. in its life cycle, we start with the queen. in there nuptial flight which takes place in the spring and lasts for 3 days, alates will find their drones. there is no way to "win" a mate, its simply first come first serve. after they are done mating, they both fly and find moist ground to start their nest together. unlike ants on earth, when myrmex mate, they mate for life, like termites. once they build a hole which doesn't take long at all, they shed their carapace and lose their wings, and look like the mated figures (as show in project) now. the queen begins laying her first workers, using the shed wings as sustenance, since the king doesn't eat that often. While the queen is laying eggs, the male is at work spraying sticky residue all over the current nest that will harden over time, making their tunnels more stable. after the first batch of workers, they will go and forage for food while the queen lays more workers and the king expands the nest little by little. soon they will have a lot of workers, and the queens body is more adjust at laying eggs and therefore creates more at a time, allowing her to lay soldier eggs. the soldiers can fend for themselves and fight other creatures, making the gathering job of the workers easier. workers will also divide themselves into groups, one group expanding the nest and spraying residue while the other group gathers food. the king no longer has too much use except for one really important one: like bee's, the king will proceed to throw up protein from his social stomach, and will feed larva. if he feeds a major this jelly, they become a sentinel when they hatch. If he feeds a worker, they become a death worm when they hatch, increasing the colony's strength (but the king cant do this too often, as he will be very hungry after throwing such a jelly up. this makes sentinels and death worms a rare sight to see). lastly, these ants are actually sentient, and keeping the colony happy is the king and queens second-most-priority, only to laying eggs and scraping enough protein to barf up even more jelly. after all of this, the king dies, and the queen runs out of eggs after having laid trillions each year for all her life. she begins to lay alates and drones, and as her workers final duty, she asks them to take care of them until the spring, as she dies in peace with her fallen king.
types in better detail worker: fast, nimble and stealthy, they take advantage of their speed and stealth to grab food undetected and get back to the colony ASAP. lives for about 2 years. Soldier: Moderately fast, and larger than a worker. Soldiers have stingers and larger mandibles designed for killing. usually found escorting workers outside. Lives for about 5 years. Sentinel: a major given a gift from a king :). has a hard carapace, and only 4 legs and is very slow and unsteady at walking, thus acts as a royal guard for the king and queen. has praying mantis claws with equally matched reaction speed. typically grabs smaller prey and bites it to death, or stings larger animals with their stinger. One sting is enough to take even the largest animal down eventually. Its extra 2 antennae allow it to be more accurate at locating enemies. Lives for about 5 years. Death worm: Have no legs or arms, but slither like a snake pretty much. can burrow instantly and typically uses that method of travel, and even uses it to get the jump on unsuspecting prey above. Also had 2 antennae, and is the largest ant, even to the queens. constricts larger prey. Even has a drill beak that splits into 4, (which is how it burrows and eats) and thats just so fricking awesome. Lives for about 2 years. Queen: Heart of a colony, mandibles are exceptional but not the best. Great at laying eggs and digging holes though. Lives about 20 years. King: Makes the colony stronger, and is no joke about combat himself. in case of some kind of raid, the king has a stinger and carapace that could match the sentinels and 4 gripping mandibles of death! best chad simp ever. Lives about 19.95 years.
