slave ant

noun

an ant taken as a larva or pupa by ants of another species and becoming a working member of the captor colony.

Origin of slave ant

First recorded in 1865–70

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for slave ant

slave ant

noun

any of various ants, esp Formica fusca, captured and forced to do the work of a colony of ants of another species (slave-making ants)See also amazon ant

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012