Abstract

RIBEIRO, Fernando José Leite. Seil digging by the female ant. Psicol. USP [online]. 1995, vol.6, n.1, pp.75-93. ISSN 1678-5177.

After its nuptial flight, the female ant Atta sexdens rubropilosa excavates the soil, digging a vertical tunnel some 15 cm deep. At its end, the ant builds a chamber where it remains taking care of its fungus garden and brood. By means of laboratory observations and experiments, a description of the excavation and analysis of some of its causal factors are presented. Frequency, amplitude, orientation and speed of the ant’s behaviour are adjusted to the features of the substrate and functional consequences are achieved. In some way, the female ant must measure tunnel depth and that is the strongest determinant of the transition from tunnel digging to chamber digging.

Keywords : Ants; Animal excavation behavior; Animal instinctive behavior; Animal ethology.

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