It is notable that although the Guardian shares similarities with the Guard both in name and appearance, there are still numerous differences between them: the Guardian often lives deeper within the nests, protecting the eggs and ruling over the Antlions within. Should someone enter the Nectarium for larval extract, the Guardian will attack and may pursue the thieves for a long distance, such as in Episode Two when a Guardian follows Gordon Freeman and his Vortigaunt companion who had taken the extract out of the nest to battle them. Guardians are extremely protective of Antlion Grubs, the extract of which is used by Vortigaunts to manipulate the Vortessence, and will ferociously attack intruders in order to protect them. Antlion Guardians appear physically identical to Antlion Guards, but have a different coloration and are capable of bioluminescence.Īpparently, each Antlion hive has one Guardian that lurks near the larval clusters, who patrols the "Nectarium" located in the center of the nest, keeping watch for nest raiders.