# Ant colony

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Underground lair where ants live, eat, and tend eggs

"Anthill" redirects here. For the novel, see [*Anthill: A Novel*](/source/Anthill%3A_A_Novel).

[Walter R. Tschinkel](/source/Walter_R._Tschinkel)  next to a plaster cast of a *[Pogonomyrmex badius](/source/Pogonomyrmex_badius)* nest

Ant hill and ant tracks, [Oxley Wild Rivers National Park](/source/Oxley_Wild_Rivers_National_Park), [New South Wales](/source/New_South_Wales)

An **ant colony** is a population of [ants](/source/Ant), typically from a single species, capable of maintaining their complete lifecycle. Ant colonies are [eusocial](/source/Eusocial), communal, and [efficiently organized](/source/Division_of_labor) and are very much like those found in other social [Hymenoptera](/source/Hymenoptera), though the various groups of these developed sociality independently through [convergent evolution](/source/Convergent_evolution).[1] The typical colony consists of one or more [egg](/source/Egg_(biology))-laying queens, numerous sterile females (workers, soldiers) and, seasonally, many winged sexual males and females.[2] In order to establish new colonies, ants undertake flights that occur at species-characteristic times of the day.[3] Swarms of the winged sexuals (known as [alates](/source/Alate)) depart the nest in search of other nests.[4] The males die shortly thereafter, along with most of the females.[5] A small percentage of the females survive to initiate new nests.[6]

## Etymology

The term "ant colony" refers to a population of workers, reproductive individuals, and brood that live together, cooperate, and treat one another non-aggressively. Often this comprises the genetically related progeny from a single queen, although this is not universal across ants.[6] The name "ant farm" is commonly given to ant nests that are kept in [formicaria](/source/Formicarium), isolated from their natural [habitat](/source/Habitat). These formicaria are made by scientists to study by rearing or temporarily maintaining them.[7][8] Another name is "formicary", which derives from the [Medieval Latin](/source/Medieval_Latin) word *formīcārium*. The word also derives from *formica*.[9] "Ant nests" are the physical spaces in which the ants live. These can be underground, in trees, under rocks, or even inside a single acorn.[6] The name "anthill" (or "ant hill") applies to aboveground nests where the workers pile sand or soil outside the entrance, forming a large mound.[10]

## Colony size

Colony size (the number of individuals that make up the colony) is very important to ants: it can affect how they forage, how they defend their nests, how they mate, and even their physical appearances. Body size is often seen as the most important factor in shaping the natural history[*[clarification needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Please_clarify)*] of non-colonial organisms; similarly, colony size is key in influencing how colonial organisms are collectively organized.[11][6] Colonies have a significant range of sizes: some are just several[*[clarification needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Please_clarify)*] ants living in a twig, while others are super-colonies with many millions of workers. Within a single ant colony, seasonal variation may be huge. For example, in the ant *[Dolichoderus mariae](/source/Dolichoderus_mariae)*, one colony can shift from around 300 workers in the summer to over 2,000 workers per queen in the winter.[12] Genetics and environmental factors can cause the variation among different colonies of a single species to be even bigger. Different ant species, even those in the same genus, may have enormous colony size disparities: *[Formica yessensis](/source/Formica_yessensis)* has colony sizes that are reported to be 306 million workers while *[Formica fusca](/source/Formica_fusca)* colonies sometimes comprise only 500 workers.[11]

## Supercolonies

Main article: [Ant supercolony](/source/Ant_supercolony)

A supercolony occurs when many ant colonies over a large area unite. They still continue to recognize genetic differences in order to mate, but the different colonies within the super colony avoid aggression.[13] Until 2000, the largest known ant supercolony was on the [Ishikari](/source/Ishikari_subprefecture) coast of [Hokkaidō](/source/Hokkaid%C5%8D), Japan. The colony was estimated to contain 306 million worker ants and one million queen ants living in 45,000 nests interconnected by underground passages over an area of 2.7 km2 (670 acres).[14] In 2000, an enormous supercolony of [Argentine ants](/source/Argentine_ant) was found in [Southern Europe](/source/Southern_Europe) (report published in 2002).[15] Of 33 ant populations nested along the 6,004-kilometre (3,731 mi) stretch along the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts in Southern Europe, 30 belonged to one supercolony with estimated millions of nests and billions of workers, interspersed with three populations of another supercolony.[15] The researchers claim that this case of unicoloniality cannot be explained by loss of their genetic diversity due to the [genetic bottleneck](/source/Genetic_bottleneck) of the imported ants.[15] In 2009, it was demonstrated that the largest Japanese, Californian and European [Argentine ant](/source/Argentine_ant) supercolonies were in fact part of a single global "megacolony".[16] Because of this there is little doubt that the Argentine intercontinental super colony represents the most populous known animal society.[17]

Another supercolony, measuring approximately 100 km (62 mi) wide, was found beneath [Melbourne](/source/Melbourne%2C_Australia), [Australia](/source/Australia) in 2004.[18]

## Organizational terminology

The following terminology is commonly used among [myrmecologists](/source/Myrmecologists) to describe the behaviors demonstrated by ants when founding and organizing colonies:[6]: p. 209

**Monogyny**
- Establishment of an ant colony under a single egg-laying queen.

**Polygyny**
- Establishment of an ant colony under multiple egg-laying queens.

**Oligogyny**
- Establishment of a polygynous colony where the multiple egg-laying queens remain far apart from one another in the nest.

**Haplometrosis**
- Establishment of a colony by a single queen.

**Pleometrosis**
- Establishment of a colony by multiple queens.

**Monodomy**
- Establishment of a colony at a single nest site.

**Polydomy**
- Establishment of a colony across multiple nest sites.

## Colony structure

Ant colonies have a complex social structure. Ants' jobs are determined and can be changed by age. As ants grow older their jobs move them farther from the queen, or center of the colony. Younger ants work within the nest protecting the queen and young. Sometimes, a queen is not present and is replaced by egg-laying workers. These worker ants can only lay haploid eggs producing sterile offspring.[19] Despite the title of queen, she does not delegate the tasks to the worker ants; however, the ants choose their tasks based on individual preference.[2] Ants as a colony also work as a collective "super mind". Ants can compare areas and solve complex problems by using information gained by each member of the colony to find the best nesting site or to find food.[2] Some social-parasitic species of ants, known as the [slave-making ant](/source/Slave-making_ant), raid and steal [larvae](/source/Larva) from neighboring colonies.[20]

## Communication

Ant colonies can range from a few dozen to millions of ants so communication is very important. Because of this, ants have been known to communicate through something called odor trails or pheromone trails.[21] These pheromone or odor trails are secreted by certain glands on an ants body though these glands and where they are located differ for each ant species.[22] In general these animals are able to provide a positive and negative feedback with these pheromone trails, this is why ants are typically seen in a single file line going from point A to B. When a foraging ant is successful in finding food they will deposit their pheromone trail on the way back to their nest, the pheromone trail will get stronger as more ants tread it signaling there is still food to be had in that area and this is known as the positive feedback.[21] On the other hand once all the food has been scavenged the trail will lose its strength as ants will no longer tread leaving their pheromones and in turn it will be like the pheromone trail never existed, this is known as the negative feedback.[21]

Some ants like the [pharaoh ant](/source/Pharaoh_ant) are even known to use more than one pheromone to help communicate many things like rewarding trails or a "no-entry" trail for unrewarding routes.[21] [Pharaoh ants](/source/Pharaoh_ant) are also different in the sense that they are able to create short-lived and long-lived pheromone trails as well as being able to secrete an attractive and repellent pheromone trail. The long-lived pheromone trails act as memory telling the ants to check certain trails often due to the success rate of finding food.[21] The short-lived trails communicate the current food sources that they have just happened to find while foraging. Lastly these ants are able to secrete a repellent and attractive pheromone, and this is short-lived as it tells other ants if there is food in an area or to not bother looking in this area as there is no food.[21]

Pheromone communication isn't only used when it comes to foraging but also in sending alarms that there is danger around. For example, the Atta [leafcutter ants](/source/Leafcutter_ant) possess a different blend of pheromones and are able to alarm other [leafcutter ants](/source/Leafcutter_ant) about the danger that is nearby.[21] Another form of communication that some ants like the [carpenter ants](/source/Carpenter_ant) participate in is communicating through vibrations. The [carpenter ants](/source/Carpenter_ant) are able to do this by smacking on their heads and abdomens against the chambers and galleries they've carved out in the rotten wood or stumps. These vibrations act as an alarm system warning of danger that can be perceived by their nest mates twenty or more centimeters away.[23] These forms of communication allow for the ants to be able to stay organized no matter how large their colony grows.

## Aggression between colonies

Aggression between ants can vary depending on the relationship between their colonies.[24] The aggression levels in ants can increase when colonies are in close proximity to each other due to limited resources.[24] Variation in size can also affect aggression levels as when a larger ant species encounters a smaller ant species, they are more likely to raid or destroy their smaller competition.[24] If conflicts were to arise between two colonies, then the losing colony would either retreat or be completely destroyed.[25]

It is common for ants to engage in battle with ants from different colonies, but uncommon for conflict to arise between ants in the same colony. [Cardiocondyla](/source/Cardiocondyla) ants are an exception because of their ability to produce wingless males, creating the opportunity for these males to mate with the queen ants that inhabit the nest without having to leave the nest like other ant species.[24] The competition to mate is thus increased as there are more available males. The wingless males typically fight to the death until only one remains in the colony. These wingless males are born with stronger mandibles than other winged males in order to give them a fighting chance at being the last remaining male in the colony so that they may be able to mate and reproduce.[24]

## Mutualistic relationships

Collecting food for a colony can be difficult as forage workers must be able to provide food that satisfies their own "nutritional requirements while also addressing the nutritional needs of the other members of the colony, including the queen, the larvae, and the other workers".[26] Because of this these ants have been known to form mutualistic interaction with different species like the mutualistic interaction between ants and [hemipterans](/source/Hemiptera).[27] Ants protect the [hemipterans](/source/Hemiptera), a tree bug from predators and in turn the [hemipterans](/source/Hemiptera) provide honeydew which is rich in carbohydrates and have been seen to increase an ants activity, aggressiveness, population size, and dominance of ants within a community.[27]

Another mutualistic relationship is the relationship between ants and fungal hyphae. The worker ants of an African crematogaster species build small shelters for the hemipterans using chewed wood and use fungal hyphae to strengthen the structure.[28] Fungal hyphae like [chaetothyriales](/source/Chaetothyriales) and [capnodiales](/source/Capnodiales) are also often used in the structural construction of ant colonies because as these fungi age they leave behind resistant tube-shaped cell walls ensuring these colonies will have sturdy walls even long after these fungi have died.[28]

## Excavation

Ant hill art is a growing collecting hobby. It involves pouring molten metal (typically non-toxic [zinc](/source/Zinc) or [aluminum](/source/Aluminum)), plaster or cement down an ant colony mound acting as a mold and upon hardening, one excavates the resulting structure.[29] In some cases, this involves a great deal of digging.[30]

The casts are often used for research and education purposes, but many are simply given or sold to natural history museums, or sold as folk art or as souvenirs. [Walter R. Tschinkel](/source/Walter_R._Tschinkel) notes in *[Ant Architecture: The Wonder, Beauty, and Science of Underground Nests](/source/Ant_Architecture%3A_The_Wonder%2C_Beauty%2C_and_Science_of_Underground_Nests)* that many commercial operations seem to use a casting procedure he developed and published based on the work of Brazilian myrmecologists Meinhard Jacoby and Luiz Forti. Usually, the hills are chosen after the ants have abandoned so as to not kill any ants; however in the Southeast United States, pouring casting into an active colony of [invasive fire ants](/source/Solenopsis_invicta) is a novel way to eliminate them.[31]

## Ant-beds

See also: [Termite mound](/source/Termite_mound)

Nest construction of ants

An *ant-bed*, in its simplest form, is a pile of [soil](/source/Soil), [sand](/source/Sand), [pine](/source/Pine) needles, or [clay](/source/Clay) or a composite of these and other materials that build up at the entrances of the subterranean dwellings of ant colonies as they are excavated.[32] A colony is built and maintained by legions of worker [ants](/source/Ant), who carry tiny bits of dirt and pebbles in their [mandibles](/source/Mandible_(insect)) and deposit them near the exit of the colony.[33] They normally deposit the dirt or vegetation at the top of the hill to prevent it from sliding back into the colony, but in some species, they actively sculpt the materials into specific shapes and may create nest chambers within the mound.[34]

## See also

- [Ant colony optimization](/source/Ant_colony_optimization), a technique in [computer science](/source/Computer_science) inspired by ant colonies

- [Nuno sa punso](/source/Nuno_sa_punso), a Filipino belief about ant hills

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## External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Ant nests](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Ant_nests).

- [Journal of Insect Science: The nest architecture of the Florida harvester ant](http://www.bioone.org/perlserv/?doi=10.1672%2F1536-2442%282004%29004%5B0001%3ATNAOTF%5D2.0.CO%3B2&request=get-document&ct=1#toclink6)

- [Myrmedrome, a realistic ant colony simulator](https://web.archive.org/web/20150909081830/http://www.emiliano.cristiani.name/myrmedrome/main_en.html)

- [Winged Ants, The Male, Dichotomous key to genera of winged male ants in the World, Behavioral ecology of mating flight](https://web.archive.org/web/20181202084402/https://www.wingedant.com/)

v t e Subterranea Natural features Types Alcove Ant colony Aquifer Burrow Burrow fossil Communal burrow Paleoburrow Cave Glacier cave Grotto Ice cave Lava cave Lava tube Pit Cave Show cave Solutional cave Talus cave Cenote Karst Lava tree mold Magma chamber Maternity den Nest Bee Pit crater Rock shelter Sinkhole Subterranean fauna Subterranean river Subterranean waterfall Underground lake Volcanic pipe Warren Exemplars Balve Cave Castellana Caves Hang Sơn Đoòng Jewel Cave National Monument Kazumura Cave Lechuguilla Cave Mammoth Cave National Park Reed Flute Cave Subterranean rivers of London Veryovkina Cave Wind Cave National Park Man-made features Types Air raid shelter Basement Burial vault Borehole Bunker Blast shelter Catacombs Casemate Crypt Mausoleum Dungeon Dugout (shelter) Dry well Earth shelter Erdstall Fallout shelter Fogou Foxhole Hypogeum Manhole Mine Missile launch facility Passage grave Quarry Rock-cut tomb Root cellar Tunnel Utility vault Underground city Underground base Underground hangar Well Wine cave Subway system Secret passage Semi-basement Sewerage Septic tank Stepwell Storm cellar Smuggling tunnel Spider hole Ventilation shaft Exemplars 816 Nuclear Military Plant Caves of Maastricht The Caves of Ægissíða Almadén Mercury Mines Coober Pedy Cheyenne Mountain Complex Chicago Tunnel Company Houston tunnel system Kosvinsky Kamen Kőbánya cellar system Kome Caves Underground City (Beijing) Underground City, Montreal Underground Great Wall of China Maginot Line Mines of Paris Mustang Caves Mount Yamantau Mogao Caves Naples underground geothermal zone North American Aerospace Defense Command Raven Rock Mountain Complex Shanghai tunnels Subterranean London Subterranean Toledo Turda Salt Mines Yaodong Fictional features Types Hollow Earth Subterranean fiction Exemplars Allegory of the cave Batcave Greek Underworld Helheim Hell Journey to the Center of the Earth Mictlan Moria Nome Kingdom Pellucidar Tunnels in popular culture Underdark Underland (Narnia) Wonderland (fictional country) Organisations American Society of Reclamation Sciences Bergamt Cave Research Foundation History of hard rock miners' organizations National Mine Map Repository National Mining Association National Speleological Society Grotto Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining Institution of Mining Engineers International Union of Speleology Research Centre for Deep Drilling Society of Economic Geologists Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy Related topics Cave conservation Cave dweller Cave diving Cave gate Cave rescue Cave painting Caving Civil defense Tunnel warfare Tunnel network Trench warfare Underground construction Tunnel construction Underground living Mine rescue Mine exploration Mining engineering Mole people in fiction Speleology Subterranean warfare

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ant colony](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ant_colony) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ant_colony?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.