Antlion worker (Half Life)

The Antlion Worker (also known as Acid-lion) is a type of Antlion, only found in or near Antlion nests in which they perform various tasks including the tending of Antlion Grubs.

Their bodies are a lot more similar to the Soldier's new appearance, with a segmented exoskeleton covering their bodies and wings and bristles sprouting across their bodies. Notable differences are its dark-green coloring compared to the dark-grey of the soldiers as well as large eyes on the front of their head, a feature not seen in Antlions before. They attack by shooting blue acid balls at enemies, leaving their abdomen vulnerable when doing so

True to their name, Antlion Workers mainly work inside the nest where they take care of the grubs and perform maintenance of the colony. As such, they are rarely encountered on the surface. They produce a corrosive acid which they use to carve out rocks and expand the colony. This acid, which also contains neurotoxins, also acts as a defensive weapon and can be launched from their mouth at high speed through a considerable distance to damage any potential intruders. This potent toxin appears to be highly pressured within its body, as an Antlion Worker will explode in a shower of venomous acid when enough damage is dealt to them.

Antlion Workers move similarly to the Soldiers, but behave very differently. The Worker's main weapon is its acidic spit, which it shoots at a distance to any threat. Consequently, they will try to gain distance or move to higher ground in order to get an advantageous position over their enemies. Once at a suitable position, Workers will spit acid on their targets, which comes out of their mouth in concentrated globules. If their attacker gets too close, they will try to move back and regain distance to fire their acid, though they will on occasion resort to melee attacks with their legs and mouth.

Antlion Workers will retreat into cover after firing an attack or when taking damage, displaying a level of intelligence and self-preservation not usually seen in the species. However, Antlion Workers are as oblivious to enviromental hazards as Antlion Soldiers, so they can occasionally die to these enviromental hazards such as drowning after landing on water or snagging itself on a barnacle's tongue.