External and internal structure of <i>Atta bisphaerica</i> Forel (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) nests

Moreira, Aldenise Alves; Forti, Luíz Carlos; Boaretto, M. A. C.; Andrade, Ana Paula Protti de; Lopes, Juliane Floriano Santos; Ramos, Vânia Maria

doi:10.1111/j.1439-0418.2004.00839.x

Cited by 70 publications

(67 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…This literature is reviewed in Tschinkel (2005). In spite of these shortcomings, it is clear that ants excavate species-typical subterranean nests, a conclusion strengthened by the more recent work of Tschinkel (1987, 1999a, 1999b, 2003, 2005), Mikheyev and Tschinkel (2005) and Moreira et al . (2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The nest architecture of the ant, Camponotus socius

Tschinkel

2005

Journal of Insect Science

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The architecture of subterranean nests of the ant Camponotus socius was studied from casts of plaster or metal. Twenty-four such casts are illustrated using stereo pairs of images. After study, plaster casts were dissolved to retrieve the workers embedded in them, providing a census of the ants that excavated the nest. Nests were up to 60 cm deep, and were composed of descending shafts connecting up to about 10 horizontal chambers. Nest volume ranged up to almost 800 cm3 and total chamber area up to almost 500 cm2. Both volume and area were closely and positively related to the number of workers in the nest. Nest enlargement occurred through the simultaneous enlargement of chambers, deepening of the nest and addition of more chambers. Chamber enlargement contributed most to nest growth. Chambers near the surface were elongate and tunnel-like, while deeper chambers were more compact in outline. As chambers were enlarged, their outlines became more complex and lobed. Workers were polymorphic with clearly distinguishable minor and major workers. The headwidth of minors averaged 1.45 to 1.65 mm, and that of majors 2.30 to 2.80 mm. The mean headwidth of minors increased significantly as the proportion of major workers increased, but the trend of major headwidths fell short of significance. The numerical proportion of majors ranged from 3% to 38% and averaged 15% of the workers, while their biomass proportion ranged from 10% to 75%, averaging about 50%. The queen was recovered in 6 of the 14 plaster nests, suggesting that the average colony of this polydomous species has 2.3 nests. Because of the lateness of the season when casts were made (October), only two nests contained significant amounts of brood. The possible functional roles of nest architecture in ants are discussed.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The nest architecture of the ant, Camponotus socius

Tschinkel

2005

Journal of Insect Science

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“…There was no network of tunnels or a concentrated chamber area resembling a "bunch of grapes" as observed in other species for which studies on nest architecture by cement moulding are available, such as A. sexdens (Jacoby, 1950), A. laevigata (Moreira et al, 2004a), and A. bisphaerica (Moreira et al, 2004b).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…For example, nests of the species Atta laevigata contain more than 7,000 chambers and measure up to 8 m in depth (Moreira et al, 2004a). Internally, the nests differ in terms of the shape of the waste and fungus chambers and their location in relation to the external area.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Discovering the Giant Nest Architecture of Grass-Cutting Ants, <em>Atta capiguara</em> (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)

Forti¹,

Andrade²,

Camargo³

et al. 2017

Preprint

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Atta capiguara is a grass-cutting ant species frequently found in Cerrado biome. However, little is known about the giant nest architecture of this ant. In this study, we investigated the architecture of three A. capiguara nests from the fragment of cerrado in Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil. Casts were made of the nests by filling them with cement to permit better visualization of internal structures such as chambers and tunnels. After excavation, the depth and dimensions (length, width, and height) of the chambers were measured. The results showed the typical shape of Atta capiguara nests consisting of mounds of loose soil with unique features resembling a conic section. The fungus chambers were found outside the apparent main part of the nest and were spaced apart and distributed laterally at ground level. The waste chambers were located beneath the largest mound of loose soil. Both the fungus and waste chambers exhibited a sectoral distribution. Our study contributes to a better understanding of the so far unknown nest architecture of the grass-cutting ant A. capiguara.

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“…In order to build these chambers, worker ants remove soil to depths up to 7 m [16] and deposit it on the soil surface, forming a mound, a characteristic heap of soil [15,17,18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Leafcutter Ant Nests Inhibit Low-Intensity Fire Spread in the Understory of Transitional Forests at the Amazon's Forest-Savanna Boundary

Carvalho

Alencar

Balch

et al. 2012

Psyche: A Journal of Entomology

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Leaf-cutter ants (Atta spp.) remove leaf litter and woody debris-potential fuels-in and around their nests and foraging trails. We conducted single and three annual experimental fires to determine the effects of this leaf-cutter ant activity on the behavior of low-intensity, slow-moving fires. In a transitional forest, where the southern Amazon forest meets the Brazilian savanna, we tested whether leaf-cutter ant nests and trails (i) inhibit fire spread due to a lack of fuels, and (ii), thereby, reduce the total burned area during these experimental low-intensity fires, particularly at forest edges where leaf-cutter ant abundance was higher. Finemedium fuel mass increased with an increase in distance from ant nest, and the mean area of bare soil was greater on nests than on the forest floor. Between 60 to 90 percent of the unburned area was within 30 m of ant nests, and burned area significantly increased with increasing distance to ant nests. In addition, the number of ant nests declined with increasing distance from the forest edge, and, with exception of the first experimental fire, burned area also increased with increasing distance from the edge. The present study provides new insight to fire ecology in Amazon environments.

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External and internal structure of Atta bisphaerica Forel (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) nests

Cited by 70 publications

References 18 publications

The nest architecture of the ant, Camponotus socius

The nest architecture of the ant, Camponotus socius

Discovering the Giant Nest Architecture of Grass-Cutting Ants, <em>Atta capiguara</em> (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)

Leafcutter Ant Nests Inhibit Low-Intensity Fire Spread in the Understory of Transitional Forests at the Amazon's Forest-Savanna Boundary

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