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Ant‐mounds as to temperature and sunshine
Author(s) -
Andrews E. A.
Publication year - 1927
Publication title -
journal of morphology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.652
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1097-4687
pISSN - 0362-2525
DOI - 10.1002/jmor.1050440102
Subject(s) - sunlight , biology , falling (accident) , ant , ecology , atmospheric sciences , geology , physics , medicine , environmental health , astronomy
The ant Formica exsectoides F. builds mounds with some reference to sunlight, and measurements of internal temperatures have shown them higher in upper parts of the mound, but different in different faces of the mound—all higher than the earth outside the mound. Inside temperatures are not constant; they are due to the sunshine. The mound is so fabricated that the internal temperatures are conserved during the night. The ants make use of the differential internal temperatures for rearing broods. Some mounds show bilateral symmetry dependent upon sun exposure. Measurements of rate of running of these ants show a falling off with lower temperatures, and possibly this is one factor in the smaller development of northerly aspects of these mounds.