Update on "Ants Sharing a Nest"

I went back to the Trachymyrmex septentrionalis nest the day after observing Solenopsis xyloni, a native ant, coming in and out quite freely. Well, the Trachy nest is still there but no sign of the S. xyloni -- so, they were not sharing a nest. What S. xyloni was doing, I do not know.

In the Solenopsis (fire ant) genus, there are several small species generally called thief ants (like S. molesta which also occurs in the Fort Worth Nature Center). Perhaps, S. xyloni was acting as a thief ant. However, I did not observe any thieving behavior.

Posted on July 27, 2013 01:37 AM by littleant