Miscellaneous Behaviors
Meet the Pogos! These images depict Pogo
workers at various locations in North America.
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Pogonomyrmex salinus
● Horse Ridge area, SE of Bend [Deschutes Co], OR USA [el. 1310 m / 4297 ft] view location in Google Maps » ● 7/20/09 7:26AM sunny, air temp: 12°C / 54°F
Shown in a somewhat defensive posture, this Pogonomyrmex salinus worker basks in the early morning sun, near the entrance to her nest. You may also notice that this individual's left back leg has been severed through the tibia, very likely as a result of conflict with ants of a neighboring colony. [scroll down for additional notes/references]
ADDITIONAL NOTES/REFERENCES:
The air temperature was approx. 8°C/46°F when we arrived at Horse Ridge, early on this clear July morning. At over 1300m / 4200ft elevation, this location experiences relatively low temperatures at night - even in Summer. There are many large gravel-covered nests of Pogonomyrmex salinus in this Juniper-Big Sagebrush community - but there were no Pogos to be seen. This changed, however, as the sun warmed the soil (and in particular, the gravel that covers the surfaces of the nests themselves). As soon as the air temperature reached approx. 10.5°C/51°F, the first P. salinus workers emerged from their nest entrances. At this point, the gravel surrounding/covering some of these nests had already reached a temperature of approx. 20.5°C/69°F. This demonstrates the efficacy of the gravel nest-covering (and in some cases, the choice of nest location incorporating large rocks, also seen in this area), as a means of collecting solar radiation. This allows the upper reaches of the nest to warm quickly in the morning sun, allowing the ants to become active at an earlier time.
·Anderson, K. E. & J. C. Munger. 2003. Effect of Temperature on Brood Relocation in Pogonomyrmex salinus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Western North American Naturalist 63(1), 2003, pp. 122-128
·Cole, B. J. 1994. Nest Architecture in the Western Harvester Ant, Pogonomyrmex occidentalis (Cresson) Ins. Soc. 41:401-410 (1994)
·Hölldobler, B. & E.O. Wilson. 1990. The Ants. Cambridge, MA, Belknap/Harvard Press
pogopogonomyrmexpogonomyrmex salinusantsmacroharvester antspogos
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