Lesley Smitheringale Fine Art

Garden Guests Diary - Ant Nest - [24 March 2008]

I discovered an ant nest in my garden today, quite by accident when I was looking for dragonflies.  The makers of this nest are dome-backed spiny ants (Polyrhachis australis) and I watched, fascinated as they toiled away, looking after their Queen and pupae. 

They build their nests on trees using leaves, dry plant materials and soil which are woven together with silk or larvae.

Stage 1: The Founding Stage. After mating with one or more males, the new queen seeks a suitable nest site in the soil or plant material. At the chosen site, she constructs a first nest cell and rears the first brood of workers, using her own body tissue (the now useless flight muscles and fat reserves) to produce eggs and feed the larvae.

Stage 2: The Ergonomic Stage. Soon after becoming adults, the new workers take over the tasks of foraging, nest enlargement and brood care and feeding the queen. The queen confines herself to egg laying and regulating colony activity. The colony continues to grow in size and numbers, workers become larger and new physical castes are added in some species.

Stage 3: The Reproductive Stage. When the colony has reached a certain population size, the queen begins to produce the queens and males, which will form the next generation.

 Sources and further reading:

http://www.amonline.net.au/factsheets/ant_colonies.htm

http://antnest.co.uk/cycle.html