What is "polyergus rufescens"

Amazon \Am"a*zon\, n. [L., fr. Gr. ?.]

1. One of a fabulous race of female warriors in Scythia; hence, a female warrior.

2. A tall, strong, masculine woman; a virago.

3. (Zo["o]l.) A name numerous species of South American parrots of the genus Chrysotis

   Amazon ant (Zo["o]l.), a species of ant ( Polyergus rufescens), of Europe and America. They seize by conquest the larv[ae] and nymphs of other species and make slaves of them in their own nests.

Polyergus rufescens is a species of slave-making ant native to southern Europe and parts of Asia, commonly referred to as the European Amazon ant or as the slave-making ant. It is an obligatory social parasite, unable to feed itself or look after the colony and reliant on ants of another species to undertake these tasks. To replenish these servant ants it raids nearby ant colonies and carries home pupae and larvae and these are reared to provide future workers for the colony. A newly mated female Polyergus rufescens needs to make its way into one of these "host" nests, kill the host queen and be accepted by the host workers in her place.