Research: Ants in the Pine Barrons

[DeoxyriboNucleicAcid]

I have recently started doing some research in the Pine Barrens of Long Island, and am looking for some experiment ideas.

 

So far, I have decided to study in the field of Ants. I may also study the ant's interaction with the surrounding environment, other creatures, and the basic ecology of the area involving ants:) Specifically, I MAY look into the Allegeny Mound ants and study their behavioral patterns, as not many have studied them. I am at a very early stage of study

I plan to identify and catalogue all ant life in the pine barrens and perhaps do behavioral experiments with different species of ants.

 

Does anyone know of recourses on ants in general, or of specific species???

I am totally open to ideas for experiments with ants, and will be glad to give you all data. Your thoughts will be appreciated.

[senexa]

One of my favorite books is "Journey to the Ants" by Holldobler and Wilson.

 

I would be most interested to learn the results if you conduct any experiments on female ant interrelationship patterns, particularly anything in regard to age-specific social position, familial congnizance, hierarchy, etc., if any.

 

Good luck with your research.

[DeoxyriboNucleicAcid]

Well, then I would most probably do that type of research on the Allegheny Mound Ants, as not to many scientists have looked into them. They are very agressive and will nip at any intruder. So, you would be interested mainly in interactions between the "castes" within the colony. Coincidentally, this will work out very well, and be quite interesting as the Allegheny Mound ants that I will be studying rade other colonies for slave, yes I said slave ants, while they still can NOT provide food for themselfs, independant on the slaves. Well, I have to go eat breakfast..., I look foward to all of your ideas.

[senexa]

I am Seneca from the Allegany Reservation in New York, so your reference to the behavior of the Allegheny Mound ants really gave me a good laugh!

[DeoxyriboNucleicAcid]

Interesting, do you actually have mound ants there? They are pretty easy to spot. The AllegHany Mound Ants are red in color, and are big, atleast 1 cm long, they are quite aggressive, and live in huge (1 to FIVE!!! foot diameter) overground mounds. Like other species, when the mound ants bite, they release Formic Acid into their victims. Their behaviour very interesting, as one of my professors has come up with a hypothesis that the mound ants are slave making ants. We do KNOW that they raid other ant colonies and take the larvae, but are they eating them or raising them? We don't know, and that is one of the questions I will try to anser in my studies, although it is a small one.

 

Tommorow, I will begin the first step of my research. I will collect, and catelogue as many different species of ants as I can from the pine barrens. I will study the biodiversity of ants, to get a general idea of the "ant life" in the pine barrens. I have still NOT YET decided on which species to study, or excactly what to do with them.

Tommorow, with an asperator, I shall collect all (or most) of the diverse species of ants, and put them in kill jars. I will identify them, and pin them at the end of the day. This will conclude the first phase of my research, or the "Biodiversity of Ants in the Pine Barrens". It may, however take longer to complete this first stage.

 

Again, I am totally open to ideas, and I kindof need them.

[admiral_ju00]

err. never mind. didn't fully read that last reply.

 

I now have another question on this

How will you try and do behavioral studies on the ants? I doubt that even the classical conditioning will work with them, plus they will be too numerous. Although I don't believe I've ever heard of this being done with ants.

 

Also, keeping the ants either individually or group segregated may not yield much info about their social structure since they would lack the normal 'bureaucratic' environment.

[DeoxyriboNucleicAcid]

ummm, I don't recall saying I would keep ants in groups?

ANYWAY(This is the part of the post you should read )

To do behavioral studies on ants, I will conduct a series of experiments. The first I have thaught of, for example, will tell me about what ants eat, how they eat it, what and why they want it and eat it (if that made any sence, sorry, I just woke up )

First I would follow ants from their colonies, and follow them as far as possible, until they go back. On a map, I will draw the "Borders of the Terratory," and find 2 different species tht have their borders relatively close. Between each "Border," I shall place a piece of food (Bate). I will study whichever species of ant ant comes to get it first, I would need to know why. Would one not smell it on the border, is the food too small, etc...

 

PS:

Maybe I could take some Allegheny mound ants and put them in an ant farm, to study their behavior on a smaller scale? Or will the change of habitat change their behavior.

 

Sorry about the terrable errors, again, I just woke up

 

PSS: Today, as I noted earlier, I will start to study the biodiversity of ants in the Pine barrens, If you have any experiment ideas in general involving ants in the pihne barrens, you would help a whole lot.

[romunov]

Hope this forum helps a bit: http://p211.ezboard.com/bantfarm