Polyergus (slave-making ants)

Polyergus, commonly known as slave-making ants, are a genus of Amazon ants that rely on stealing pupae from other ant colonies to maintain their workforce. They raid neighboring nests, capture the pupae, and bring them back to their own colony. Once the captured ants mature, they work as laborers, performing tasks like feeding and caring for the Polyergus queen and her brood. This parasitic behavior allows Polyergus colonies to save energy on worker maintenance, but it also creates a dependency on their host colonies. Their specialized social parasitism exemplifies complex interspecies interactions and evolutionary adaptations.