Rock ant is a 3-star species card from the Iron Age. Rock ants teach each other the way to new nests by tandem running.
Bonus by grade
| Grade | Copies needed | Bonus |
|---|---|---|
| Common | 0 | +10% exploration speed |
| Uncommon | 2 | +18% exploration speed |
| Rare | 5 | +30% exploration speed |
| Epic | 10 | +45% exploration speed |
| Legendary | 20 | +70% exploration speed |
Duplicates raise the grade: Uncommon at 2, Rare at 5, Epic at 10, Legendary at 20.
Codex
- Common: The rock ant (Temnothorax albipennis) lives in small colonies in rock crevices.
- Uncommon: A whole colony can be only a few hundred ants.
- Rare: When it moves house, scouts compare possible new nests.
- Epic: A scout leads a nestmate to a good site by tandem running.
- Legendary: Scientists study it to learn how groups make decisions.
Field notes are reviewed regularly. Spot something wrong? Tell us.
Field guide
| Size | Not well known |
| Colony | Small; rarely more than about 350 workers |
| Queens | One queen per colony |
| Nest | Rock crevices, under stones, in dead stems or old snail shells |
| Diet | Small insects and other tiny animals; probably some nectar |
| Defence | Not well known |
| Active | Workers forage alone; young queens fly in summer |
| Lifespan | Not well known |
| Where it lives | Mostly near coasts in southern Britain, and parts of mainland Europe |
Did you know?
- Workers build nest walls from tiny pebbles and sand grains.
- Scouts tend to turn left, possibly because their eyes are slightly uneven.
- Tandem runs are used more often when the target is farther away.
Sources: bwars.com, en.wikipedia.org