Department of Biological Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306-4370, USA.
J Insect Sci. 2010;10:88. doi: 10.1673/031.010.8801.
The study of subterranean ant nests has been impeded by the difficulty of rendering their structures in visible form. Here, several different casting materials are shown to make perfect casts of the underground nests of ants. Each material (dental plaster, paraffin wax, aluminum, zinc) has advantages and limitations, which are discussed. Some of the materials allow the recovery of the ants entombed in the casts, allowing a census of the ants to be connected with features of their nest architecture. The necessary equipment and procedures are described in the hope that more researchers will study this very important aspect of ant natural history.
地下蚁巢的研究一直受到难以将其结构以可见形式呈现的阻碍。这里介绍了几种不同的铸造材料，它们可以完美地复制蚂蚁的地下巢穴。每种材料（牙科石膏、石蜡、铝、锌）都有其优点和局限性，这些都将进行讨论。有些材料允许回收埋在铸模中的蚂蚁，从而可以根据蚁巢结构的特征对蚂蚁进行普查。本文还描述了所需的设备和程序，希望有更多的研究人员能够研究蚂蚁自然史的这一非常重要的方面。
