So far I've seen you have black garden ants from the Lasius group and wood ants from the Formica (s str) group.
Here are some other lesser known genuses you might want to have a look at for potential enemies.
Bigheaded ants from the Pheidole genus (for example Ph. megacephala)
- Has multiple queens (they'd basically be multiple colonies you fight against although there could very well be queen chambers with 2-10 queens inside as well.
- They are extremely polymorphic with 2 distinct castes, the tiny workers and the slightly less tiny soldiers with their massive heads.
- These guys would SWAMP the player in ridiculous amounts of tiny workers. Their worker tile should give birth to 4 workers and the soldier tiles to 2 soldiers. You'd need AOE weapons like the exploding Camponotus or a combination of extremely durable tank ants (Bull ants, Camponotus majors) and ranged units like Formica acid sprayers to properly deal with them.
- Due to their massive numbers they could put pressure on the player at multiple fronts at once making a very different challenge than most other ant species.
- In the knowledge section you could raise attention to the issue of invasive ant species because Pheidole megacephala belongs to the top of the worst invasive ant species on the planet often utterly eradicating native ants in the areas it dominates.
Thief ants from the Solenopsis genus (Solenopsis molesta, S. fugax)
- These ants are so incredibly small that they could basically move though solid earth like ghosts (even though at a lower speed).
- They wouldn't be your primary enemy but more of an annoyance and deterrence.
- They would enter your chambers and steal food from the food tiles as well as pupae from the brood tiles.
- If you invade their nest they'd swamp you with massive numbers of itsy workers much like Pheidole does (except that the thief ants don't have soldiers).
- In the knowledge base you could make people with the concept of thief ants. Many don't even know that these little ant pirates exist.
Harvester ants from the Messor genus (like Messor barbarus)
- They are very polymorphic with smaller minor workers and big, tanky majors that won't go down easily.
- Their colonies can grow to MASSIVE proportions giving players a large enemy force with powerful ants to fight that requires strategic thinking instead of brute force. They also love to dig and create extensive tunnel networks with impressive funnel-exits.
- They eat not just insects and sugars but also seeds (actually seeds are their main food source) which means that if you conquer a (satellite) colony you can plunder their storage chambers. They could also work well as neutral opponents in multiplayer matches (they'd basically be well-guarded resource depots).
- In the knowledge base you could make people familiar with the concept of seed-eating harvester ants. They even are gardeners - if they realize that a seed is germinating they will actually burry it in moist soil and allow it to grow, also they often only eat the fruit bodies of the seeds they collect and dispose the actual seeds, effectively helping the plants to spread.
They are also very easy to keep and require little maintenance (due to their seed storage chambers they don't require feeding every day, also seeds usually do not spoil if kept dry, they basically just need a dump of seeds once per week and a water tube that's large enough to not run out before you look after them the next time) which makes them ideal pet ants.
Acrobat ants from the genus Crematogaster (also known as "pointy butts")
- They are small and numerous.
- They breed reaaally fast making them a perfect species for early game zerg tactis. You'd have to fight right from the beginning to keep them contained, otherwise they'd just overrun you before midgame.
- When threatened they raise their very flexible abdomen and excrete a venom that is very toxic for most insects. Essentially they're small walking area effect poison dispenders - if you want to attack them your ants will get poisoned and take damage over time.
- They would also make a good and actual threatening neutral NPC faction in multiplayer matches due to their quick growth and AOE weapons.
- In the knowledge base you could tell people about their rather unique defensive strategy.
Here are some other lesser known genuses you might want to have a look at for potential enemies.
Bigheaded ants from the Pheidole genus (for example Ph. megacephala)
- Has multiple queens (they'd basically be multiple colonies you fight against although there could very well be queen chambers with 2-10 queens inside as well.
- They are extremely polymorphic with 2 distinct castes, the tiny workers and the slightly less tiny soldiers with their massive heads.
- These guys would SWAMP the player in ridiculous amounts of tiny workers. Their worker tile should give birth to 4 workers and the soldier tiles to 2 soldiers. You'd need AOE weapons like the exploding Camponotus or a combination of extremely durable tank ants (Bull ants, Camponotus majors) and ranged units like Formica acid sprayers to properly deal with them.
- Due to their massive numbers they could put pressure on the player at multiple fronts at once making a very different challenge than most other ant species.
- In the knowledge section you could raise attention to the issue of invasive ant species because Pheidole megacephala belongs to the top of the worst invasive ant species on the planet often utterly eradicating native ants in the areas it dominates.
Thief ants from the Solenopsis genus (Solenopsis molesta, S. fugax)
- These ants are so incredibly small that they could basically move though solid earth like ghosts (even though at a lower speed).
- They wouldn't be your primary enemy but more of an annoyance and deterrence.
- They would enter your chambers and steal food from the food tiles as well as pupae from the brood tiles.
- If you invade their nest they'd swamp you with massive numbers of itsy workers much like Pheidole does (except that the thief ants don't have soldiers).
- In the knowledge base you could make people with the concept of thief ants. Many don't even know that these little ant pirates exist.
Harvester ants from the Messor genus (like Messor barbarus)
- They are very polymorphic with smaller minor workers and big, tanky majors that won't go down easily.
- Their colonies can grow to MASSIVE proportions giving players a large enemy force with powerful ants to fight that requires strategic thinking instead of brute force. They also love to dig and create extensive tunnel networks with impressive funnel-exits.
- They eat not just insects and sugars but also seeds (actually seeds are their main food source) which means that if you conquer a (satellite) colony you can plunder their storage chambers. They could also work well as neutral opponents in multiplayer matches (they'd basically be well-guarded resource depots).
- In the knowledge base you could make people familiar with the concept of seed-eating harvester ants. They even are gardeners - if they realize that a seed is germinating they will actually burry it in moist soil and allow it to grow, also they often only eat the fruit bodies of the seeds they collect and dispose the actual seeds, effectively helping the plants to spread.
They are also very easy to keep and require little maintenance (due to their seed storage chambers they don't require feeding every day, also seeds usually do not spoil if kept dry, they basically just need a dump of seeds once per week and a water tube that's large enough to not run out before you look after them the next time) which makes them ideal pet ants.
Acrobat ants from the genus Crematogaster (also known as "pointy butts")
- They are small and numerous.
- They breed reaaally fast making them a perfect species for early game zerg tactis. You'd have to fight right from the beginning to keep them contained, otherwise they'd just overrun you before midgame.
- When threatened they raise their very flexible abdomen and excrete a venom that is very toxic for most insects. Essentially they're small walking area effect poison dispenders - if you want to attack them your ants will get poisoned and take damage over time.
- They would also make a good and actual threatening neutral NPC faction in multiplayer matches due to their quick growth and AOE weapons.
- In the knowledge base you could tell people about their rather unique defensive strategy.
