click on any picture to see a larger image
P. occidentalis worker
a nest mound
mating time in the desert
nest mounds
"As is evident to anyone who explores the Sonoran Zone areas of western United States, Pogonomyrex occidentalis is an exceedingly abundant and conspicious ant. Its habitats have been well known for many years, beginning with the celebrated investigations of the Rev. H. C. McCook, and probably no more characteristic ant (or even insect) can be found in the western plains. Its conical nests are as diagnostic of the praries as the prairie-dog burrows and as the bison."
......Gregg, The ants of Colorado
click on any picture to see a larger image
P. occidentalis worker
a nest mound
mating time in the desert
nest mounds