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
Green-head ant myrmecophilous insects such as the beetle "Chlamydopsis longipes" are sometimes seen living inside colonies. Green-head ant males are produced irregularly throughout the year and are low-flying ants. Recorded nuptial flights begin between September to November at temperatures of 20–25 °C (68–77 °F), when a number of males begin to emerge from their nest. Sometimes, however, the males may return to their nest after briefly appearing outside. The green-head ant is a gamergate species, which means that males can successfully mate with the workers. These workers remain outside their nest with their head and thorax appressed and gaster elevated into the