NEST POPULATIONS OF POGONOMYRMEX SALINUS HARVESTER ANTS (HYMENOPTERA,FORMICIDAE)

Twenty-five colonies of Pogonomyrmex salinus Olsen were collected at t he Experimental Field Station (EFS) on the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) located in southeastern Idaho. Po pulations of worker ants were determined, and physical characteristics of the surface of the nest, depth and temperature in the queen chambe r, and total nest depth were recorded. The mean population was 3153 wo rkers, although populations varied considerably (900 to 7548). Mean de pth of the queens' chamber was 1.15m and temperatures ranged from 14.8 degrees C to 23.0 degrees C with a mean of 18.7 degrees C+/-2.7 sd. T here were no correlations between any physical nest properties that wo uld allow a reliable prediction of colony size based on nest surface f eatures. Pogonomyrmex salinus Olsen is intermediate in population size between the closely related P. montanus Mackay and P. occidentalis Cr esson.