Harvester ants are restless, enigmatic architects
Why do Florida harvester ants dig complex, curly nests again and again?
By Susan Milius
Florida harvester ants “make a nest that is truly beautiful in its architecture,” says Walter Tschinkel. He has poured molten metal or plaster into the underground nests and dug up the hardened casts to reveal their multilevel shapes. Much about these ant nests, however, defies explanation.
For reasons still unknown, colonies of Florida harvester ants (Pogonomyrmex badius) abandon their lovely nests about once a year and dig a new one. At a study site Tschinkel calls Ant Heaven, the colonies typically move about two to six meters away from their old homes.