Presentation Details
| Nest Entrance Modification in Temnothorax rugatulus is Consistent with a Defensive Role Stephanie A.Pitterman, Purbayan Ghosh, Stephen C.Pratt. School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA |
Abstract
Ants thrive in diverse environments by using a range of nest designs, all of which require an entrance. Entrance size affects many functions, including transit, defense, and microclimate regulation. Colonies are expected to make entrances that balance these needs in a way that suits their environment and morphology. Temnothorax rugatulus nests in rock crevices and will readily live in artificial cavities. They prefer entrances smaller than 2 mm and often reduce them further using available materials. Based on this, we hypothesized that the ants size their entrance to maximize defensibility while still allowing free passage for workers. We housed 22 colonies in nests with a 3 mm opening and provided adhesive putty that the ants used to reduce the entrance. We measured the resulting entrance diameters as well as the body width of 10 workers from each colony. All colonies made the entrance large enough to allow passage of one worker but most were too small to permit simultaneous passage of two workers or a queen. This result is consistent with colonies balancing defensibility with efficient transit, such that nests are just large enough to permit passage of one worker ant at a time.
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No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author.
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