Master Ants
by Drake Dun
Most characteristics not applicable. Art by andi jones
Habitat tropical.Master ants are a highly evolved form of insects most closely related to the common ant. Like all ants, they are social creatures, building extensive nests formed from several distinct castes, each of which carries out a highly specialized function. What makes master ants unique is that they build their nests inside a mammal host with which they form a unique symbiotic relationship. They are specifically adapted to this lifestyle and unsuited to the standard ant way of life. They are quite small, measuring less than a millimeter in length, and pale white. No caste, not even the reproductives, has wings or eyes, and master ants have foreshortened limbs and antennae to expedite movement in the close environment they inhabit.
Life Begins
A new colony is formed when a queen master ant gains access to the warm body of a living mammal. The point of entry may vary, as discussed below under "Reaching Out." Inside the mammal host, the queen is protected from the immune system by masking chemicals which trick the body into identifying the queen as part of the organism. The queen then makes its way to a fleshy point in proximity to the digestive tract and injects saliva carrying a virus. The virus is similar to those found in aphids and other parasitic organisms, causing the infected area to swell into a gall like formation. This gall is about as big around as a quarter and forms . . .This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: July 23, 1999
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