“Wall-papering” and elaborate nest architecture in the ponerine antHarpegnathos saltator
“Wall-papering” and elaborate nest architecture in the ponerine antHarpegnathos saltator
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松蚁的“墙纸”和精致的巢穴结构Harpegnathos saltator
作者：
C. Peeters;Bert Hölldobler;M. Moffett;T. M. Ali
在印度南部挖掘出的18个跃蚁巢揭示了一种不同寻常的复杂结构。有人居住的房间在地下并不深。最上面的房间由一个厚厚的拱形屋顶保护，屋顶的外面是一个中间空间，与周围的土壤隔离。在大的蜂群中，拱形的屋顶延伸成一个外壳，它包围着几个重叠的房间。在壳体的上部区域有可能被模压法兰包围的小开口。室的内部部分或全部由空茧条排列。垃圾室总是比有人居住的房间更深；活的双翅类幼虫（Milichiidae科）通常存在。这些精心设计的巢穴代表着巨大的能量投入，因此我们推测巢迁移在这个物种中是不可能的。因此，群体分裂可能永远不会发生，不像其他蚂蚁那样，交配体繁殖。
SummaryExcavation of 18 nests ofHarpegnathos saltator from southern India revealed an unusually complex architecture for a ponerine ant. The inhabited chambers are not deep in the ground. The uppermost chamber is protected by a thick vaulted roof, on the outside of which is an intervening space serving as isolation from the surrounding soil. In large colonies, the vaulted roof is extended into a shell which encloses several superimposed chambers. Little openings, which may be encircled by moulded flanges, occur in the upper region of the shell. The inside of the chambers is partly or completely lined with strips of empty cocoons. A refuse chamber is always found deeper than the inhabited chambers; live dipteran larvae (family Milichiidae) are typically present. These elaborate nests represent a large energetic investment, and we speculate therefore that nest emigration is unlikely in this species. Consequently, colony fission may never occur, unlike other ants where gamergates reproduce.