For the first time in a while, Bug felt like she was being fooled. After the nest's reconstruction was completed and her children became more independent, she could return to the postponed issue. The strange cows that did not produce any nectar were still part of the wolf ants' herd.

A few weeks after hibernation, one of the fake cows laid eggs. None of the wolves touched them, and even when younglings appeared, they fed freely on supplies. These creatures that looked and smelled like aphis cows were nothing but parasites. Bug was ashamed that it had taken so long for her to fully recognize her mistake. More than that, she was indignant at those parasites who had deceived the wolves. Without wasting a second, she took the fake cow and carried it away from the nest.

Worrying that workers might bring parasites back to their nest, Bug walked deep into the woods. Following the creek that led her to the river she reached the border of South-West territory. She placed the parasite cow on the ground by the riverbank. After taking a breather, Bug looked at the squirming creature. Trying to imitate the aphid cows, the fake ones had weak legs too. Bug lifted her head. The wall was only a little ahead, so going any further might be dangerous. 'It's far enough. Workers won't come here, and the parasites will not be able to return.' Satisfied with her choice of location, Bug was about to go back for the second parasite when she felt an unfamiliar smell.

She carefully looked around. The river went around a hill covered with thick shrubs. Bugs headed towards the hill. Behind the lush high grass, the strip of soil became visible when she walked around. Following the cracks in the ground, she found a deep crevice. Bug sniffed and walked inside. It turned out to be much deeper than she had thought at first. A bit of soil fell down from the ceiling when she touched it with her head. It was still fresh. The recent earthquake had created a whole tunnel.

Bug looked around a bit more, then returned to the surface. There was nothing inside this crevice. But the direction of the tunnel and the smell of fresh air deep inside made her guess that it led outside the wall. "If it was any bigger, it would be a problem for people. But it's unstable and no large creatures can take this route so I guess it should be fine." She decided to leave this problem to Kushane's patrols to deal with. Right now, she had her own troubles and work to take care of. Her prediction was right. When she returned a few days later to check on the crevice, it had already been sealed with a layer of dirt, fallen from the tunnel's ceiling. The soldiers decided not to risk it and buried the potential invasion route, covering it with several heavy boulders.

Fortunately, her decision to remove the parasites wasn't met with questions from the shepherds. Whether it was because of her status as a queen or because she took the fake cows one by one, the swarm wasn't alarmed by the disappearance of the livestock. A sense of fulfillment made Bug return to her duties with even more zeal.

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Wolf ants were omnivorous creatures. Living with them, she tried things she had never done before, like aphid cow's nectar and fermented meat. There were occasions when swarms attacked and hunted stray sheep or cows. But, with the plants that humans had brought, wolf ants were very cautious. After a few hundred years of cultivation, the forests inside the walls became a mixture of familiar trees to humanity and local ones. The closer to settlements, the more fruits and other valuable species of trees could be found.

Remembering her observations from last autumn, Bug carefully watched the workers. Just like they ignored the walnuts, they also paid no attention to the mulberry trees. This gave her an idea: 'Maybe I can expand their diet?' It would be nice to have more food supplies for next winter. It was too early for walnuts to ripen, but mulberries could already be eaten. Finding one of the trees, Bug harvested a handful of berries

The first step was to try mulberries in her wolf form. She ate a few and, after an hour, ate a full handful. Nothing bad happened, so Bug moved on to the next step. She gave one berry to Dawn. She was worried that smaller workers might feel worse if something went wrong with the same dosage. To her relief, the soldier was as healthy as ever. When she shared the berries with the workers, they didn't feel sick either. Content with the outcome, Bug showed the wolf ants where to find mulberry trees. Although they couldn't reach the higher branches, the fallen berries were an easy and sweet treat for them.

She wasn't sure how the berries would affect the cubs, so she didn't show them the mulberry trees. But they found out anyway, following the workers. One day, Bug found her children happily eating the berries under a nearby mulberry tree. Covered in black juice, they feasted on sweets with the delight of a child who had finally found how to open a jar of cookies. The next day, their weak stomachs upset, making their parents worried. They quickly got better, but Bug made sure to repeat several times that they should not eat the berries for the time being.

"No," repeated Bug, pointing at the mulberry tree, while the cubs' gazes wandered around. "Only one a day, alright? One, and no more."

The pups looked at her with sweet and pleading eyes. Hailstone even whimpered sorrowfully. It was tremendously difficult not to give in, but she was standing her ground. Bug shook his head and said: "No."

Reluctantly, the cubs obeyed. 'I'll need to teach them how to show their agreement too. And I do hope the others won't spoil them too much', Bug glanced at Spot. The young wolf was keeping a distance, holding a bunch of mulberries in its mouth.