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The Nest Architecture of the Ant Odontomachus brunneus

The architecture of the subterranean nests of the ant Odontomachus brunneus (Patton) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) was studied by means of casts with dental plaster or molten metal. The entombed ants were later recovered by dissolution of plaster casts in hot running water. O. brunneus excavates simple...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Cerquera, Lina M., Tschinkel, Walter R.
Formato: Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: University of Wisconsin Library 2010
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3014808/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20672980
http://dx.doi.org/10.1673/031.010.6401
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author Cerquera, Lina M.
Tschinkel, Walter R.
author_facet Cerquera, Lina M.
Tschinkel, Walter R.
author_sort Cerquera, Lina M.
collection PubMed
description The architecture of the subterranean nests of the ant Odontomachus brunneus (Patton) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) was studied by means of casts with dental plaster or molten metal. The entombed ants were later recovered by dissolution of plaster casts in hot running water. O. brunneus excavates simple nests, each consisting of a single, vertical shaft connecting more or less horizontal, simple chambers. Nests contained between 11 and 177 workers, from 2 to 17 chambers, and 28 to 340 cm(2) of chamber floor space and reached a maximum depth of 18 to 184 cm. All components of nest size increased simultaneously during nest enlargement, number of chambers, mean chamber size, and nest depth, making the nest shape (proportions) relatively size-independent. Regardless of nest size, all nests had approximately 2 cm(2) of chamber floor space per worker. Chambers were closer together near the top and the bottom of the nest than in the middle, and total chamber area was greater near the bottom. Colonies occasionally incorporated cavities made by other animals into their nests.
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spelling pubmed-30148082012-02-09 The Nest Architecture of the Ant Odontomachus brunneus Cerquera, Lina M. Tschinkel, Walter R. J Insect Sci Article The architecture of the subterranean nests of the ant Odontomachus brunneus (Patton) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) was studied by means of casts with dental plaster or molten metal. The entombed ants were later recovered by dissolution of plaster casts in hot running water. O. brunneus excavates simple nests, each consisting of a single, vertical shaft connecting more or less horizontal, simple chambers. Nests contained between 11 and 177 workers, from 2 to 17 chambers, and 28 to 340 cm(2) of chamber floor space and reached a maximum depth of 18 to 184 cm. All components of nest size increased simultaneously during nest enlargement, number of chambers, mean chamber size, and nest depth, making the nest shape (proportions) relatively size-independent. Regardless of nest size, all nests had approximately 2 cm(2) of chamber floor space per worker. Chambers were closer together near the top and the bottom of the nest than in the middle, and total chamber area was greater near the bottom. Colonies occasionally incorporated cavities made by other animals into their nests. University of Wisconsin Library 2010-06-14 /pmc/articles/PMC3014808/ /pubmed/20672980 http://dx.doi.org/10.1673/031.010.6401 Text en © 2010 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
spellingShingle Article
Cerquera, Lina M.
Tschinkel, Walter R.
The Nest Architecture of the Ant Odontomachus brunneus
title The Nest Architecture of the Ant Odontomachus brunneus
title_full The Nest Architecture of the Ant Odontomachus brunneus
title_fullStr The Nest Architecture of the Ant Odontomachus brunneus
title_full_unstemmed The Nest Architecture of the Ant Odontomachus brunneus
title_short The Nest Architecture of the Ant Odontomachus brunneus
title_sort nest architecture of the ant odontomachus brunneus
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3014808/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20672980
http://dx.doi.org/10.1673/031.010.6401
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