Search results for "Nest choice"
showing 4 items of 4 documents
No effect of lack of wood for acorn ant colonies development
2021
Acorn ants mostly inhabit cavities in fallen twigs and hollow acorns. Such places, e.g., dead wood, provide an attractive living resource for many groups of microorganisms, like fungi and bacteria, which can be important for ants. However, during experiments in laboratories, acorn ant colonies are typically kept without dead wood. During laboratory experi-ments, the preferences of the ant Temnothorax crassispinus for nest sites with pieces of dead wood were checked, and whether the presence of such wood influenced productivity. In binary choice tests, colonies had to choose a nest site when presented with two potential nest sites, one empty, or two cavities with different contents. The ant …
The cavity-nest ant
2014
Colonies of the ant Temnothorax crassispinus inhabit mostly cavities in wood and hollow acorns. Typically in the field, nest sites that can be used by the ant are a limited resource. In a field experiment, it was investigated whether the ants prefer a specific size of nest, when different ones are available. In July 2011, a total of 160 artificial nests were placed in a beech-pine forest. Four artificial nests (pieces of wood with volume cavities, ca 415, 605, 730, and 980 mm3, respectively) were located on each square meter of the experimental plot. One year later, shortly before the emergence of new sexuals, the nests were collected. In July 2012, colonies inhabited more frequently bigger…
The cavity-nest ant Temnothorax crassispinus prefers larger nests
2014
Colonies of the ant Temnothorax crassispinus inhabit mostly cavities in wood and hollow acorns. Typically in the field, nest sites that can be used by the ant are a limited resource. In a field experiment, it was investigated whether the ants prefer a specific size of nest, when different ones are available. In July 2011, a total of 160 artificial nests were placed in a beech-pine forest. Four artificial nests (pieces of wood with volume cavities, ca 415, 605, 730, and 980 mm3, respectively) were located on each square meter of the experimental plot. One year later, shortly before the emergence of new sexuals, the nests were collected. In July 2012, colonies inhabited more frequently bigger…
Impact of plant cover on the cavity-nesting ant Temnothorax crassispinus
2017
1. Plant communities influence the availability of important resources for ants, such as nest sites and food, as well as environmental conditions. Thus, plants affect the abundance and distribution of ants. 2. In a field experiment, the influence of plant cover on the settlement of nest sites and per-capita productivity of sexual individuals by the ant Temnothorax crassispinus was analysed. In July 2014, in five areas with patches of alien balsam Impatiens parviflora, and another five of native balsam I. noli-tangere, transects composed of artificial nests were established; the nest sites were situated inside patches of balsams, and outside of them. Four hundred and forty artificial nests w…