Thief ant is a 2-star species card from the Stone Age. Thief ants tunnel into bigger ants' nests and steal their food and young.
Bonus by grade
| Grade | Copies needed | Bonus |
|---|---|---|
| Common | 0 | +8% Food cap |
| Uncommon | 2 | +14.4% Food cap |
| Rare | 5 | +24% Food cap |
| Epic | 10 | +36% Food cap |
| Legendary | 20 | +56% Food cap |
Duplicates raise the grade: Uncommon at 2, Rare at 5, Epic at 10, Legendary at 20.
Codex
- Common: The thief ant (Solenopsis molesta) is tiny and yellowish.
- Uncommon: It digs narrow tunnels next to the nests of larger ants.
- Rare: Its tunnels are too small for the bigger ants to follow.
- Epic: It raids their food stores and eats their brood.
- Legendary: It is related to fire ants.
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Field guide
| Size | Workers about 1.4–1.6 mm; queens about 4.7–5.6 mm |
| Colony | Up to a few thousand workers |
| Queens | Often several; one nest can hold up to eight queens |
| Nest | Underground, often under stones and beside other ants' nests |
| Diet | Seeds, dead insects, fats and honeydew, plus brood stolen from neighbours |
| Defence | Not well known |
| Active | Winged adults fly from late July to early autumn (northern summer) |
| Lifespan | Not well known |
| Where it lives | Southern Canada, most of the USA and northern Mexico |
Did you know?
- Its tiny size means it often goes unnoticed in kitchens and pantries.
- It can hollow out planted corn and sorghum seeds, so farmers sometimes replant.
- Workers take at least about 52 days to grow from egg to adult.
Sources: antwiki.org