Translation of "The ant labors for the good of the nest"

Question

I'm looking to translate "The ant labors for the good of the nest", or to rephrase, "The ant works for the benefit of the nest/hive/colony". So far I've come up with:

formica laborat ad bonum nidi

I chose "nidus" = nest, not knowing what word the Romans used for an ant dwelling. Hive, perhaps? Surely not Colony? Does anyone have insight as to the correct word usage?

Also, is this a correct usage of "ad" in the accusative case?

Someone suggested "Formica pro bono nidi operatur/laborat".

My questions are:

1. Is there a difference between "ad bonum" and "pro bono";

2. Is there a difference in meaning between "laboro" and "opero"?

Thanks for any help.

Answer 1

As Cairnarvon points out in a comment, Varro uses colonia for a bee hive, so extending it to other similarly behaving insects makes sense. This is a choice of words that a Roman would easily understand. A word derived from formica would strike me as a bit odd, given that the word formica itself is used; a mere colonia is clear enough.

I would translate "for the good of" simply as pro. The entry in L&S for this preposition mentions the meaning "for the benefit of" under II.B.1. I think that lengthier versions would deliver the same message but in a manner that feels somewhat less idiomatic to me.

For the verb both laborare and operari make sense. The latter is described as "to toil" or "to take pains" instead of a neutral "to work", and one of the examples given is of bees working. I will therefore have to suggest operari. (The non-deponent operare is rarer and not classical.)

Thus my suggestion would be:

Formica pro colonia operatur.

Answer 2

An anthill is technically either a formicatrix or a formicetum, and the colony or community of ants is the formicarium. However, in this situation we want to use colloquial or poetic terms, not technical terms. The common person's word for an anthill in general is the caverna formicosa and for the hillock of the anthill, the word grumulus is used. The poetic word for a hive is alvus or alveus, however, this word is more used for the structure of the hive, not the insect community. I think the use of the word nidus is ok in this context, but we could also use alveus, but grumulus would be my choice for something homey and motto-like.

Concerning work, you would not use the word laboro, because this implies brute or menial labor. When Romans talk about working hard, they use the word contendo. So, you can say labore contendit.

Concerning the advantage to the nest, the typical word, especially for an animal would be commoditas. However, when we talk about an animal working for the benefit of something, it would be better to use the expression opere efficior. So, altogether, this how I would say it to convey a homespun or moralistic tone:

Formica ad usum grumuli opere efficitur.

Concerning your proposed rendering (laborat formica ad bonum coloniae)... You could certainly write this and a Roman would know what you meant, but it would sound very awkward and barbaric. Kind of like the way Borat says "Make benefit glorious nation of Kazakhstan!" We know what he means, but we can tell he is a foreigner just translating foreign expressions into English word for word.

First laboro means to toil like a slave or prisoner. You would not normally use that word for a citizen. It does not have a positive connotation. Romans did not have the same kind of work ethic that Americans do. Secondly, ad is a preposition of position or motion. You would say pro bono for benefitting someone, as in pro bono publico (for the public good). However, this expression is used for people, not animals. People have bonum, animals have usum. The use of the word coloniae is ok as you have it.