Ant-maps > Floriade > The Wood ants at the Floriade site in Venlo

The targets of the ant-maps Floriade project:

• Maintain Monitoring the super colony as done since 1997
• Protect the wood ants during the exhibition, the construction and when the park becomes an industrial zone
• Learning about how wood ant super colonies react on heavy human disturbance

Ant-maps.com is not related to the Floriade organization. The monitoring work during construction is permitted by The Floriade management. Visit the Official Floriade website

The first observations from the wood ant nests in the St. Janssleutelbos near Venlo were made in 1997. The super colony in this part of the site is one of the to at the research site ‘Zaarderheiken‘.  It was already clear that this forest close to the city would become an industrial park. Since 1997 many nests came and disappeared. But 20 nests are still on the same place, unharmed. The main ant trails are still on the same place, others were re-routed because vegetation and nests changed. In 2008 the forest became a huge construction site. (View map)

About 75% of the super colony will not be touched, as far as the maps show.. But the other 25% are seriously in danger. In October 2008 one nest (ZH 202) was mainly damaged during the construction of a new road. This same road cuts of an important forage area from a large number of nests. This weakens the durability of the nest. This could mean that the demolished nest and probably some others will not survive the coming winter. In the area that is cut of one new nest was founded in the summer of 2008. The future will learn how this nest will develop.

Nest ZH 202, spread out over a distance of some meters.

Nest NLLI-286 This new nest was build weeks after the construction from a new road had started.

Nest NLLI-174 Nest 202, damaged in October 2008.

More information about the Floriade

• http://geolution.nl/venlo/Floriade.htm
• http://floriade.eigenstart.nl/
• http://floriade.tk/
• http://www.freewebs.com/venlo-floriade/