Abstract
Although fire ants have been extensively studied, not much has been published about the structure and building material of their nests and even less on the lining of chamber walls. Nests built in unconsolidated sandy soils of Solenopsis electra and Solenopsis nr. macdonaghi, studied in La Pampa and Chubut (Argentina), respectively, show organic linings, which are reported herein for the first time. It is hypothesized that these organic linings may be of fecal origin, since there is no organic rich horizon in those soils. Apart from its significance as regards ant architecture and nest function, the presence of organic linings in ant nests is important for interpreting fossil nests, which have been often assigned to termites based on the presence of organic linings.
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Acknowledgments
JFG thanks Ricardo Melchor and Martin Umazano for assistance during field work at Gran Salitral, La Pampa, which was funded by Project 185/CN from Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales (Universidad Nacional de La Pampa) to Ricardo Melchor. MK thanks Pablo Puerta for assistance during work at Punta Peligro. Logistic support in Chubut was provided by the Museo Egidio Feruglio (Trelew, Chubut). We thank Viky Sanchez for microphotographs, and the Editor Johan Billen and two anonymous reviewers for improving the original manuscript. This is a contribution of grants PICT 1972 to Jorge F. Genise, PICT 0180 to Marcelo Krause from the Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica of Argentina, and CIUNT 26/G413 from the Secretaría de Ciencia y Tecnología de la Universidad de Tucumán, Argentina, to Fabiana Cuezzo.
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Genise, J.F., Cuezzo, F., González, M.G. et al. Organic linings in nests of the fire ants Solenopsis electra Forel and Solenopsis nr. macdonaghi Santschi from Argentina. Insect. Soc. 60, 87–91 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-012-0270-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-012-0270-6