Worker ants or bees that perform labor in a colony, lacking reproductive abilities.
From Greek 'ergates' meaning 'worker,' derived from 'ergon' (work). The term was adopted into entomology to describe the non-reproductive caste in social insects.
Ergates are fascinating because they're sterile by design—a colony essentially sacrifices reproductive potential for some individuals to optimize the whole group's survival, making them some of nature's most committed team players.
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