noun
- animals (especially insects such as ants, bees, or wasps) that live together in the same nest or colony
Usage: plural form; commonly used in entomology and animal behavior studies
Examples
- The worker ants cooperate with their nestmates to build and maintain the colony.
- Honeybees communicate with their nestmates through dance movements.
- Nestmates in a wasp colony work together to defend their nest from intruders.
- The queen ant produces pheromones that help her nestmates recognize each other.
- Termite nestmates engage in cooperative foraging to gather food for the colony.