Nests

Ants are one of the few groups of animals which modify their immediate environment to suit their needs. They build often elaborate nests in a range of situations, sometimes expending huge amounts of energy in their construction. These nests are commonly occupied for years and some for decades. In addition, some ants use plant fibres or soil to construct protective coverings over nests and feeding areas. Only a handful of animals manufacture such elaborate and complex structures.

Nests in soil vary from small, simple chambers under rocks, logs or other objects on the ground to extensive excavations extending a meter or more into the soil. The exact structure of the nest varies with the species, soil type and situation. The entrances to these subterranean nests show a wide range of styles. Many are no more than a cryptic hole just large enough for a single worker to squeeze through. Others are a single entrance surrounded by soil which varies from a low and broad mound to a tall, narrow turret. A number of species assemble soil and leaves around their nest entrances to form large piles with well-defined, vertical sides and concave tops. Others collect plant material to construct thatched mounds above their subterranean nests.

While many ants form elaborate nests, those of other species are relatively simple. Many of the species found in rotten wood do little more than remove loose wood fibres to construct simple chambers for workers and brood. These chambers can be small or very extensive but often lack the complexities of nests found in soil or arboreally. Finally, a handful of species (for example some Leptogenys) lack what would normally be thought of as a nest and are found in small groups clustered on the ground in leaf litter or among the roots of plants. These species move their "nests" frequently and can be found in a wide range of suitable sites.

References Relating to Nest Architecture

 * Branstetter, M.G., Danforth, B.N., Pitts, J.P., Gates, M.W., Kula, R.R., Brady, S.B. 2017. Phylogenomic insights into the evolution of stinging wasps and the origins of ants and bees. Current Biology 27: 1019–1025.
 * Cassill, D. L., Tschinkel, W.R. 1995. Allocation of liquid food to larvae via trophallaxis in colonies of the fire ant, Solenopsis invicta. Animal Behaviour 50' (3): 801–813.
 * Cerquera, L. M., Tschinkel, W.R. 2010. The nest architecture of the ant Odontomachus brunneus. Journal of Insect Science 10: 64.
 * Conway, J.R. 2003. Architecture, population size, myrmecophiles, and mites in an excavated nest of the honey pot ant, Myrmecocystus mendex Wheeler, in Arizona. Southwestern Naturalist 48: 449–450.
 * Cushing, P.E. 1995. Description of the spider Masoncus pogonophilus (Araneae, Linyphiidae), a harvester ant myrmecophile. Journal of Arachnology 23(1): 55–59.
 * Debruyn, L.A.L., Conacher, A.J. 1994. The bioturbation activity of ants in agricultural and naturally vegetated habitats in semiarid environments. Australian Journal of Soil Research 32: 555–70.
 * Diehl-Fleig, E., Diehl, E. 2007. Nest architecture and colony size of the fungus-growing ant Mycetophylax simplex Emery, 1888 (Formicidae, Attini). Insectes Sociaux 54 (3): 242–247.
 * Dlussky, G.M. 1981. Ants of Deserts. Moscow: Nauka (in Russian).
 * Dobzhansky, T. 1973. Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution. American Biology Teacher 35: 125–129.
 * Duarte, A., Weissing, F.J., Pen, I., Keller, L. 2011. An evolutionary perspective on self-organized division of labor in social insects. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics 42: 91–110.
 * Halfen, A.F., Hasiotis, S.T. 2010. Neoichnological study of the traces and burrowing behaviors of the western harvester ant Pogonomyrmex occidentalis (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae): Paleopedogenic and paleoecological implications. Palaios 25: 703–720.
 * Hamilton, W.D. 1964. The genetical evolution of social behaviour, I. and II. Journal of Theoretical Biology 7: 1–52.
 * Harrison,J.S., Gentry, J.B. 1981. Foraging pattern, colony distribution, and foraging range of the Florida harvester ant, Pogonomyrmex badius. Ecology 62(6): 1467–1473.
 * Hart, L.M., Tschinkel, W.R. 2012. A seasonal natural history of the ant, Odontomachus brunneus. Insectes Sociaux 59(1): 45–54.
 * Hunt, J.H., Nalepa, C.A. (eds.) 1994. Nourishment, evolution and insect sociality. In Nourishment and Evolution in Insect Societies, 1–19. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
 * Jacoby, M. 1935. Erforschung der Struktur des Atta-Nestes mit Hilfe des Cementausguss-Verfahrens. Revista Entomologia 5: 420–424.
 * Johnson, B. R., Linksvayer, T.A. 2010. Deconstructing the superorganism: Social physiology, groundplans, and sociogenomics. Quarterly Review of Biology 85(1): 57–79.
 * Kondoh, M. 1968. Bioeconomic studies on the colony of an ant species, Formica japonica Motschulsky. 1. Nest structure and seasonal change of the colony members. Japanese Journal of Ecology 18: 124–133.