ANT Page

Here is an extra fun page dedicated to Harvester Ants. That is the type of ant in this ant colony.

Info:

Hundreds of species of harvester ants exist worldwide. In the United States, most native harvester ant species make their homes west of the Mississippi River because they prefer dry, desert-like conditions. In fact, the species most commonly found in ant farms is the Texas Red Harvester Ant (Pogonomyrmex barbatus).

Harvester ants, particularly the red ones, can also deliver painful stings. The workers use their stinging capabilities to defend the colony. Those stings can cause pain for several hours and can produce allergic reactions in some people. Their large mandibles also allow them to deliver painful bites despite their small size.

A thin rod was placed while the sand was settling before the ants arrived. That is how the first tunnel was made. They arrived on April 20 at around 3 pm. The holes at the top lid are so the ants can breathe.

This is about 15 hours later. They were busy through the night. They didn't move around at first. They were stuck in a tube, then shipped from Utah. Then they were put in the refrigerator for 10 minutes to slow them down in order to be safely placed into Ant Mountain.

The side of the mountain is not sand. It is made a plastic. The plastic is steep and slippery. They use the path to get back up to the top. Their is sand that they move around at the bottom of the dome.

Harvester Ant Cam

That is a tiny piece of apple they dragged to the opening. There are about 30 harvester ants in the habitat. They get fed 1 little piece every three days and a few drops of water every three days. Notice how they drag one piece of sand to the top with their mandibles and toss it over the side of the mountain (at 9 minutes and 55 seconds there is a great example). Little by little, the tunnels are made.