Acorn Ants May Create and Use Two Entrances to the Nest Cavity

• Published in: Insects (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 12; no. 10; p. 912
• Main Author: Mitrus, Sławomir
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 06.10.2021; MDPI
• Subjects: acorns; Ants; Boring; Cavities; cavity-nesting ant; Colonies; entrance modification; Experiments; Forests; Holes; Laboratories; multiple entrances; nest cavity; nest site; nesting sites; Nests; Reduction; soil; Species; Temnothorax; Temnothorax crassispinus; Workers (insect caste); Poland

Many ant species construct large nests that are inhabited by numerous workers, but other species dwell in ready-for-use cavities and live in small colonies. Ants of the genus Temnothorax inhabit small cavities, e.g., in acorns, twigs, and under rocks. Although a preference for nest sites with a narr...