Nature: thatch ants and woodpeckers

Self-tutoring about nature observations: the tutor mentions a connection.

There’s a thatch (or thatching) ant hill in the backyard. It developed back in the summer of 2017, a complete surprise. Just plain lawn had been there, then I was gone a few weeks, then an ant hill one foot high and 2 feet in diameter stood there when I returned.

Thatch ants are beneficial, so I welcomed them. For a few years they ruled the backyard, making trails through the lawn and cleaning the place up.

The thatch ants go dormant fairly early in autumn: when the weather is messy, you never see them. A couple of autumns ago, I noticed deep intrusions into their hill, but didn’t know what had made them. Crows, maybe? Apparently, the ants weren’t capable of defense against such an attack. Sporadically it would repeat.

Out in the yard yesterday evening, I noticed, sadly, that about half their nest, above ground, has been caved in by that intruder. It was already late enough that only a few of the ants were apparent. The colony seems yet alive, but I’m not sure of its condition.

It turns out a flicker, which is a woodpecker I’ve posted about a couple of times, is likely what’s attacking the thatch ants. I see flickers in the yard a lot.

Source:

trailkeepersoforegon.org