army ant

noun

1. any of the chiefly tropical ants of the suborder Dorylinae that travel in vast swarms, preying mainly on other insects.

army ant

noun

1. any of various mainly tropical American predatory ants of the subfamily Dorylinae, which live in temporary nests and travel in vast hordes preying on other animals Also calledlegionary ant See also driver ant

Word History and Origins

Origin of army ant¹

First recorded in 1870–75

Example Sentences

Some, for example, have evolved to look like army ants, allowing the beetles to march alongside them and feed on their eggs and young.

From Science Magazine

Now that researchers have seen the light, they know what to look for in visually impaired arthropods such as army ants and blind beetles.

From Science Magazine

Voracious army ants prey on many insect and vertebrate species and can travel about 1 kilometer a day, often in and out of dense forests that researchers cannot easily enter.

From Science Magazine

Back in 1990, on David Attenborough’s The Trials of Life for instance, a medical endoscope was used to film inside a bivouac of army ants in Panama.

From The Guardian

These army ants in Costa Rica don't build a nest in the earth or in an old tree.

From BBC