Giant Ants
Giant Ants are magically transmuted life forms that live in underground colonies numbering around 200-1250 individuals. A nest consists of a fertile Queen, a sterile caste of females who function as Warriors and Workers, and a few males to fertilize the Queen.
The body of the Ant is broken up into three or four segments. Their elbowed antennae distinguish ants from other insects. The three pairs of powerful legs allow the Ants to move objects many times their own body weight.
The nests of the Giant Ants are complex mazes that are excavated deep underground in desolate lands. The Queen is located in her egg chamber deep in the very center of the colony. Some nests are found in natural caverns and cave complexes. Workers and Warriors are excellent tunnelers. Each Ant can move forty cu. Ft. of earth per hour and twenty cu. Ft. of stone per hour. The nests of giant ants can be several hundred feet in depth and many times that in width. The nests are designed for maximum defense against weather and enemies alike. As an example: During floods, the ants can reroute tunnels to keep the chambers dry.
Parties of up to 50 Workers will forage for food in an area around the nest. This area can be as far away as five to ten miles. They feed indiscriminately on flesh of both dead and living creatures. They also feed on fungi that they cultivate in their tunnels. Ants defend their Nests with unreasoning ferocity, especially when their Queen is threatened.
Ants have a head with antennae and mandibles, a thorax with six legs attached, and an abdomen. The coloration of the ants varies from type to type. They range from black to reds and browns to greens and even varieties that are translucent. There is no way to tell the castes apart except by their sizes. Queens are normally the largest ant in the nest with huge abdomens swollen with eggs. Warriors are slightly smaller in length than the queen, however are broader with larger mandibles. The worker ants are the smallest in the nest.
Giant Ants can be found in the great deserts of Alquennas.
For additional information on Giant Ants please see the Mystic Station Designs, LLC SkillSkape book entitled
“The Book of Creatures Volume One”
