13 replies to this topic

[dspdrew]

Here's a little fun game I decided to make after my last anting trip. See if you can spot the founding chamber. These are all Veromessor pergandei founding chambers, which look exactly the same as the founding chambers of most all other large desert ants.
 

 

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Nope! That's a mature nest, not a founding chamber.

 

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It's actually a little easier to do this in person because you don't get the depth perception in pictures.

[soulsynapse]

This is brilliant and really helpful for beginners

[Nathant2131]

I really like this. Perhaps mix them up with other insect burrows?

[dspdrew]

I really like this. Perhaps mix them up with other insect burrows?

 

I was going to do that once. It would be a slightly different game.

[Bracchymyrmex]

Do founding chambers look different in desert terrains than forested ones?

[Works4TheGood]

Do founding chambers look different in desert terrains than forested ones?

I don't think so, but in PA, you have weeds everywhere instead of dry dirt / stones, which will make it considerably more difficult. Just remember, swimming pools are a PA ant-keeper's paradise! We may not have gravel and dirt, but we have watery ant traps everywhere!

[antgenius123]

This should be the new Whack-A-Mole but with majors coming out from the holes.

Edited by antgenius123, February 26 2017 - 9:08 PM.

[T.C.]

Ok, so when ants are digging their founding nest, how far do they go down?

[Alabama Anter]

Yeah I got em all right! In AL we have don't have chambers at all! All the invicta huddle together under stones.

[soulsynapse]

also, what I learned from this post is

 

if there is a little pile of dirt in any form: it's a founding chamber lol

 

(minus ones that have workers crawling out of them)

[dspdrew]

also, what I learned from this post is

 

if there is a little pile of dirt in any form: it's a founding chamber lol

 

(minus ones that have workers crawling out of them)

 

Haha, they have to have the right shape in all dimensions, and the right size dirt clods or rocks. For instance, if it's all really fine sand, it's probably a mature nest. Also, when it's a more rounded hill from a profile view, and the dirt pile goes all the way to the hole, it's probably not a founding chamber. Founding chambers usually have a little more of an angular hill from a profile view, and a slight gap between the hole and the mound. The difference is caused by one large ant digging the nest vs. multiple small ants.

[nurbs]

also, what I learned from this post is

 

if there is a little pile of dirt in any form: it's a founding chamber lol

 

(minus ones that have workers crawling out of them)

 

It is a lot harder to spot in person. The chambers are easier to spot in the pictures because, well, it's already framed in. But when you are walking around and there is literally dirt everywhere with the expanse of the desert, and these chambers are no more than an inch or two wide, it is actually quite easy to miss. It's even harder to see when the sun is low and casts long shadows.

Edited by nurbs, February 28 2017 - 12:29 PM.

[dspdrew]

 

also, what I learned from this post is

 

if there is a little pile of dirt in any form: it's a founding chamber lol

 

(minus ones that have workers crawling out of them)

 

It is a lot harder to spot in person. The chambers are easier to spot in the pictures because, well, it's already framed in. But when you are walking around and there is literally dirt everywhere with the expanse of the desert, and these chambers are no more than an inch or two wide, it is actually quite easy to miss. It's even harder to see when the sun is low and casts long shadows.

 

 

I think it's harder in the pictures because they're 2D.

[MoPar62]

Drew, thanks so much for this exercise. My son wants to keep a colony so I've been mining this site for a week or so. This page was an incredible find for teaching him what to look out for the next time we go anting. Not to mention that for an absolute beginner it was a lot of fun

Mitch