Spider webs and soldier ants

A spider has spun a web over part of the picture. Nothing under the web can be eaten, by any color, until the web is broken. Webs first appear in level 11, Blueberry Waffle.

The rules

• The leaf-covered green boxes in the tray hold soldier ants. In a slot they send red soldiers carrying leaves to bite the silk.
• The number on the spider is how many bites are left. At 0 the spider runs away and the blocks underneath can be eaten.
• Soldiers can only reach the web once its edge is exposed, meaning a block next to the web has been eaten. Before that, a soldier box just waits in its slot.
• A web often needs several soldier boxes; their numbers add up to the spider's count.

Timing the soldier box

The most common mistake is sending a soldier box too early, while the web is still surrounded by uneaten blocks. It then occupies a slot for a long time. Clear a path to the web first, then send the soldiers. In levels where the web sits in the center of the picture, the soldiers are a late-game job.

Tips

• Note which colors border the web at the start; those are the colors that open it up.
• Keep track of how many soldier boxes are left in the tray, so you know whether the web will break before the slots run out.
• The Machine Gun and the UFO can also chip away at a web if you are stuck.