: the enlarged part of the abdomen behind the pedicel in hymenopterous insects (such as ants)
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the WebRepletes gorge until their gasters, or the back end of their bodies, swell with the sweet stuff. Liz Langley, National Geographic, 30 Oct. 2019 Using a type of fluorescent microscopy, researchers from Pennsylvania State University watched fungal colonization in ants from the gaster, the rear end of the abdomen, to the head—and found no trace of fungal cells in the brain. Jennifer Lu, National Geographic, 18 Apr. 2019 The winter ants also store their food reserves in their gasters, or rear ends, which gives them a pretty spectacular silhouette. Aimee Levitt, Chicago Reader, 6 Sep. 2017