Wednesday, 20 November 2002
D0558

This presentation is part of : Display Presentations, Subsection Cb. Apiculture and Social Insects

What's hot? Metal castings of ant nest architecture

Walter R. Tschinkel, Florida State University, Department of Biological Science, Tallahassee, FL

The disadvantage of using of dental plaster for making casts of ant nests is that much reassembly from excavated pieces is required. Filling the nest with molten aluminum requires more equipment, but the cast is strong and can be excavated as a single piece. I describe the construction of a field-portable metal-melting, charcoal-fueled kiln. I also describe operation of the kiln, and present examples of aluminum casts of the nests of several ant species. The quality of the casts and methods for their display are discussed.

Species 1: Hymenoptera Formicidae Pogonomyrmex badius (harvester ant)
Species 2: Hymenoptera Formicidae Solenopsis invicta (fire ant)
Keywords: aluminum, ant nests

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