 |
Surviving winter in the nest
|
Ants living in the soil pass winter deep in the nest. Some species pass winter gathered together in a place that is not so cold, such as beneath the bark of a tree, inside a plant, or in a gap in the base of a tree.
|
|
|
No feeding during the passage of winter
|
Most types of ants do not eat food during winter. They survive the winter utilizing the fat accumulated during fall. However, the Messor aciculatus ant stores many grass seeds in the stock-piling chamber of the nest during fall and remains in the nest during winter.
Ordinary ants have no meals during winter.
|
However, the Messor aciculartus ant differ from most and does eat meals during winter.
|
|
When it become cold outside in late fall, the ants move deep into the nest looking for a warm place. Millepedes and springtails living in a litter sometimes hibernate during winter in a shallow place in the nest. The exit becomes closed naturally with soil and sands during this period.
