Antlings are gigantic vilekin, ubiquitous in
Eorzea's desert regions. Despite their lack of higher order intelligence, antling society is rigidly structured, with the queen ensconced at its heart. The population can be broadly divided into two categories: the worker caste, responsible for expanding the nest, caring for eggs, and gathering sustenance; and the soldier caste, responsible for defending the colony and capturing slaves.
[1]
Among the antling hierarchy, there are the worker ants, responsible for gathering food, and the soldier ants, tasked with defending the colony. The ratio of workers to soldiers is strictly controlled by the type of eggs laid by the queen, and all the myriad members of the colony function together as a single organism. Far more cohesive than even the most disciplined army, the antlings are seen by Ul'dah as a looming danger that must be contained. [2]
The vast majority of antlings in a colony, classified as
workers or
soldiers, can be identified by three-pronged carrying mandibles or two-pronged shearing mandibles respectively. However, some workers are seen acting as sentries and soldiers in certain colonies. Soldiers tend to be lighter in color than workers, and high in a colony's hierarchy; hues can even shift towards green (in the case of the health-restoring
marshal) or blue (in the case of the
princess). The egg-laying queen possesses abdomen that is visibly distinct in the genus.
[3]