WALL-PAPERING AND ELABORATE NEST ARCHITECTURE IN THE PONERINE ANT HARPEGNATHOS-SALTATOR

Excavation of 18 nests of Harpegnathos saltator from southern India re vealed an unusually complex architecture for a ponerine ant. The inhab ited chambers are not deep in the ground. The uppermost chamber is pro tected by a thick vaulted roof, on the outside of which is an interven ing space serving as isolation from the surrounding soil. In large col onies, the vaulted roof is extended into a shell which encloses severa l superimposed chambers. Little openings, which may be encircled by mo ulded flanges, occur in the upper region of the shell. The inside of t he chambers is partly or completely lined with strips of empty cocoons . A refuse chamber is always found deeper than the inhabited chambers; live dipteran larvae (family Milichiidae) are typically present. Thes e elaborate nests represent a large energetic investment, and we specu late therefore that nest emigration is unlikely in this species. Conse quently, colony fission may never occur, unlike other ants where gamer gates reproduce.