Solarium (myrmecology)

a Solarium of Tapinoma israele

In myrmecology, a solarium is an above-ground earthen structure constructed by some ant species for the purpose of nest thermoregulation and brood incubation.[1] Solaria are usually dome-shaped and fashioned from a paper-thin layer of soil, connected to the main nest by way of subterranean runs. Some species, such as Formica candida, construct solaria using plant materials.[2]

Tapinoma erraticum is an example of a solaria-constructing species whose skill at so doing was noted by Horace Donisthorpe in the early 20th century in his book British Ants, their Life Histories and Classification.[3]

  1. ^ "195-Beneficial Insect Series 1: Allegheny Mound Ant - Cooperative Extension: Maine Wild Blueberries - University of Maine Cooperative Extension". Cooperative Extension: Maine Wild Blueberries. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  2. ^ Munns L. and Cantarello E., 2016. Survey of black bog ant (Formica candida) nests in the New Forest and at Roydon Woods, 2016. Report, May- October 2016. BUG2717. Higher Level Stewardship Agreement The Verderers of the New Forest AG00300016
  3. ^ Donisthorpe, Horace St. John Kelly; Donisthorpe, Horace St John Kelly (1915). British ants, their life-history and classification. Plymouth [Eng.]: W. Brendon and Son, limited. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.17614.