Mermithergate
![Mermithergate and normal workers of Camponotus punctulatus](/Images/godic/202501/26/Camponotus.punctulatus.mermithergate.-.wheeler.svg2331.png")
![Soldier, worker and mermithergate of Pheidole dentata](/Images/godic/202501/26/Pheidole.dentata.parasitized.-.wheeler.svg2331.png")
A mermithergate is an ant worker that has a changed appearance as a result of a Enoplia nematode infection. The word was coined by William M. Wheeler in 1910. It is a combination of the nematode genus Mermis, for which Wheeler first described the phenomenon, and ergate, which means ant worker. Infected females (queens) are called mermithogynes.