Jet ant is a 4-star species card from the Singularity. Jet ants build nests from chewed wood glued with honeydew and strengthened by a fungus.
Bonus by grade
| Grade | Copies needed | Bonus |
|---|---|---|
| Common | 0 | +12% Materials cap |
| Uncommon | 2 | +21.6% Materials cap |
| Rare | 5 | +36% Materials cap |
| Epic | 10 | +54% Materials cap |
| Legendary | 20 | +84% Materials cap |
Duplicates raise the grade: Uncommon at 2, Rare at 5, Epic at 10, Legendary at 20.
Codex
- Common: The jet ant (Lasius fuliginosus) is shiny black.
- Uncommon: It builds carton nests of chewed wood inside trees.
- Rare: It glues the carton with honeydew.
- Epic: A fungus grows through the walls and makes them stronger.
- Legendary: Long foraging trails lead from its nest to aphid colonies.
Field notes are reviewed regularly. Spot something wrong? Tell us.
Field guide
| Size | Workers about 4–6 mm |
| Colony | Very large; one study reports an average of about 2.5 million workers |
| Queens | Often several queens, with more than one linked nest |
| Nest | Carton nests in old tree trunks and stumps; sometimes under stones or in walls |
| Diet | Mainly aphid honeydew, plus dead and small live insects |
| Defence | Weak jaws; smelly secretions from the abdomen repel other ants |
| Active | Day and night in warm weather, in long, visible columns |
| Lifespan | Not well known |
| Where it lives | Much of Europe and northern Asia, in shady woodland |
Did you know?
- New queens slip into another ant's nest, replace its queen and have its workers raise her young.
- Foragers usually return to the same aphid colonies on every trip.
- Winged ants appear from May to September, mostly in the afternoon.
Sources: antwiki.org, en.wikipedia.org