Аn infrared thermal survey application on a thermal budget investigation of nests of Formica aquilonia Yarrow, 1955 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Effect of mound size on intranest thermoregulation in the red wood antsFormicarufa and F. polyctena (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)

“…Reaching the value of 22 °C in a large nest (more than 1 m in diameter) can occur in 13 h (Dlussky, 1975). During this time period, ants spend insignificant amount of stored carbohydrates, up to 2.5% of the mass of ants (Gorny et al, 2015). Our model has clearly demonstrated the possibility of such heating, however, with the specification of the nest size.…”

“…In spring, red wood ants come out to the surface of the nest, but in summer, on the contrary, they avoid illuminated areas where the temperature can rise above +40°C, which is lethal for them (Kadochova et al, 2019). Insolation does not lead to heating the inner parts of the nests greater than the temperature of the soil at the same depth (Gorny et al, 2015). 24.9 ± 0.7 25.6 ± 0.5 III (1.01-1.5) 25.6 ± 0.5 25.4 ± 0.5…”

“…There is evidence that after sunset and the closing of ventilation openings in the mound, the surface area of the mound cools down. As a result, moisture condensation begins and additional heat is released (Gorny et al, 2015). In our study, when constructing a model, the effect of changes in humidity was not taken into account, in view of the assumption that the process is stationary.…”

“…This is also confirmed by our data.Measurements of the nest temperature in September did not show significant differences from air temperature. Spring warming up after wintering can be carried out rather quickly, within two days from the awakening of the population andthe nest reaches constant temperature values (Gorny et al, 2015). Reaching the value of 22 °C in a large nest (more than 1 m in diameter) can occur in 13 h (Dlussky, 1975).…”

“…Many studies have also been devoted to the connection between thermal conditions inside ant nests and the state of the environment (Horstmann and Schmid, 1983;Bachem and Lamprecht, 1983;Jones and Oldroyd, 2007;Kasimova et al, 2014;Gorny et al, 2015). In one study (Garaeva, 2016), a connection between mound and soil temperate was shown, and the seasonal dependence of the nest temperate on that of its environment.…”