Mounds range from small to large, measuring in height and in diameter with no visible entrances. Workers are only able to access their nests thorugh a series of tunnels that protrude from the central region. Such protrusions can span up to 25 feet away from the central mound, either straight down in to the ground or, more commonly, sideways from the original mound. Constructed from soil, mounds are oriented so that the long portions of the mound face toward the sun during the early morning and before sunset. Mounds are usually oval-shaped with the long axis of the nest orientating itself in a north–south direction. These ants also spend large amounts of energy in nest construction and transporting brood, which is related with thermoregulation. The brood is transported to areas where temperatures are high; workers track temperature patterns of the mound and do not rely on behavioural habits. Inside nests, mounds contain a series of narrow horizontal tunnels, with subterranean shafts and nodes reaching grass roots below the surface; these shafts and nodes connect the mound tunnels to the subterranean chambers. These chambers are about 5 cm2 (0.77 inch2) and reach depths of . The mean number of ants in a single subterranean chamber is around 200.