Nest cedar lumber. When digging the nests, they use the wood shavings scraped from the wall to create partitions within the tunnels. The nests are usually round and have about 1-4 tunnels, each with multiple branches. Because these materials are often useful for humans in construction, "X. virgininica's" nesting behavior presents the disadvantage of weakening wood in manmade structures. The abundance of biological resources within the nest has led to a number of specialized predators. The aardvark and the ant eater use long tongues to prey upon termite and ant nests. Birds such as the honey buzzard specialize on wasp and
Erratic ant nest structure to concentrate solar heat onto the ants' brood. Nuptial flights take place in June, although they may be postponed during colder years to July. Erratic ant The erratic ant ("Tapinoma erraticum") is a species of dolichoderine ant first described in 1789 by Latreille. This species ranges throughout Central Europe from the mountains of south Italy to north Germany. It is present in coastal areas of Southern England and on the islands of Gotland and Öland in Sweden. A thermophilic species, "T. erraticum" is found principally on dry heathland, exposed to the sun. The workers are very agile, and