Ants are quite fascinating creatures with their different species, behaviors, and colonies. When you playEmpires of the Undergrowth, it almost makes you want to have your own Formicarium. As you complete the missions in the game, you face Formicarium Challenges to test the strength of your colony.

Before each challenge, your colony, which continuously strengthens and gains new ant species, will face increasingly different challenges. In the previous two Formicarium Challenges, you were battling waves of enemies with different ant species. However, in the third challenge, things will change completely.

The player receives a warning after pressing the Rehouse The Colony button in Empires of the Undergrowth

Rehousing Phase

What makes Formicarium Challenge Three different is that after completing the previous challenge,the scientists willmove your colony to a new Formicarium.This means you’ll have to redesign and rebuild all your constructions from scratch. Additionally, your food supplies will be lost.

However,you will receive asubstantial amount of Jelly based on the size and resourcesof your previous colony. Moreover, the adaptations you developed previously will not be lost.

The player is examining the Leafcutter Major species on the adaptation screen in Empires of the Undergrowth

With the substantial amount of Jelly you receive, if you haven’t unlocked the Leafcutter Major species yet, now is the perfect time. These will now be the units you use for the tank role.

Furthermore,you will no longer be able to replay Formicarium Challenge One and Formicarium Challenge Two. However, you will unlock two new levels called The Harvest and Front Line.

The player is examining the Black Ant species on the adaptation screen in Empires of the Undergrowth

Preparation Phase

Adaptations

At this stage, you need to be fully equipped and complete in terms of adaptations. Therefore, if you haven’t maxed out your adaptations, play past levels to gather plenty of Jelly. Before this phase,you must have unlocked the Leafcutter Major ant species.

For the Leafcutter Majors, unlock the Resilient and Durable skills. Also, make sure tochoose Stun instead of Aggro.This will make them even more effective tanks. Previously, you used Black Ants as tanks, but now, with these effective adaptations, the Leafcutter Majors will serve as a durable shield on the front lines.

The player is checking the Wood Ant brood chambers in Empires of the Undergrowth

When selecting your Wood Ants, choose Rapid Fire. Then, ensure you pick the Corrosive and Weakening adaptations. This way, your Wood Ants will not only fire rapidlybut also poison your enemies, making them easier to defeat.

Your Black Ants will serve as secondary tanks, but since you now have Leafcutter Majors,you won’t use this species as frequently. Nevertheless, to be on the safe side, equip them with the Self Repair and Meat Wall adaptations. This will make your front lines even more resilient.

The player is checking Speed Tiles at his colony in Empires of the Undergrowth

Do not use your Gene Thief Workers in battle. Their role will be tomanage the base’s organization, so you should give them adaptations suited for this purpose. Efficient Brood and Defensive will be good choices.

For your Gene Thief Queen,provide the Second Wind and Royal Guardadaptations. This way, when your queen’s health drops to 75 percent, she will fully heal and become invulnerable for 30 seconds. Additionally, when her health drops to 75 percent, she will spawn 14 Royal Guards.

Two different ant colonies are fighting in a lab tube that connects two Formicarium in Empires of the Undergrowth

If you have any leftover Jelly, spend it on stat upgrades for your Wood Ants and Leafcutter Majors.

Colony Layout

Your colony will now have a population of around 130. Create a singlelarge hexagonal brood chamber for each speciesand keep them separate from each other.

For your Wood Ants,approximately 60 connected brood chambers will be sufficient. In your base,20 Worker Ants will be enough; you won’t need more. Fill the rest of your population with defensive units. Ensure the majority of your defensive units are Leafcutter Majors, with a minority being Black Ants. 45 Leafcutter Majors and 15 Black Ants as defensive units will suffice.

The male scientist kills some ants with his finger in Empires of the Undergrowth

Regarding food, having between 2,000 and 3,000 stored will greatly ease this challenge for you.

Additionally, don’t forget to create a path with Speed Tiles leading to the entrance of your underground colony. If you feel unprepared and your resources are insufficient,you’re able to replay past levels or complete the challengesthere to gather resources. Remember toupgrade as many of your units to the third levelas possible.

Victory Reward screen appears after Third Formicarium Challenge in Empires of the Undergrowth

How To Win The Third Formicarium Challenge

If you fight outside the Formicarium, the scientist will throw some insect species into your Formicarium. Therefore, if you don’t trust your worker ants, you cankeep some warrior ants in defense.

If you keep soldiers inside your colony, the scientist will stun and damage by hitting the glass. At the same time, he will throw some insect species into the Formicarium to get you out, but each time the number of these insect species will increase. So, trynot to stay too much inside.

Unlike the previous Formicarium Challenges, this one is entirely different. In the first two challenges, you were defending against waves of different ant species invading your colony. However, things change at this level.

In this challenge, two separate Formicariums areconnected by a glass tube.Your main goal will be toeliminate the Ant Queen of the opposing colony.

The rival colony will first send a few groups of ants over the nest entrance. At this stage, you need tocreate two separate units.Place your Leafcutter Majors and Black Ants in the first unit, and your ranged units, the Wood Ants, in the second unit. Position your tank unit at the front and your ranged unit behind it.

At the beginning of this preparation phase, the male scientist willsend a few Whip Spidersto your colony, but since you haven’t ventured out yet, you may quickly deal with them. Now, it’s your turn to make the first move. Send your tank unit ahead,followed by your ranged unit.The rival colony’s units are:

The rival workers have Aggressive Brood and Defensive adaptations. Additionally, if you’re playing on Hard or Extreme difficulty, the rival Queen will have the Second Wind and Royal Guard adaptations.

The first encounter will take place in the glass tube connecting the two Formicariums. No matter what they do, therival units won’t be able to get past your defensive units, and your ranged and poisonous Wood Ants in the back will be their nightmare.

During the battle, the scientist will release afew Mole Crickets into your nest,but your workers will handle them. If you want to feel more secure, you can send a small unit of Black Ants to defend your colony beforehand.

At this stage, the rival units will eventually be defeated. Continue the battle in the glass tube and position your ranged units where they can see the enemies.

After about two or three minutes of fighting, you will defeat the rival units, andit’s time to enter their colony.When you enter the rival Formicarium, the scientist willkill a few of your ants with his finger, but since the rival units are exhausted, this won’t be an issue for you. All you need to do is kill the rival Queen, thus bringing the challenge to an end.

Rewards

As a reward, you will again receivea substantial amount of Jelly, Food, and Territory. Additionally,the test interface, a feature you gained at the end of Challenge Two but later lost, will reappear. From this interface that appears on the left side, you can nowtest your colony’s strength by releasing new creatures.

Here are the new species you can summon from the second tab: