»How strong are wood ants in reality?«
During our high school years, we were interested in this seemingly trivial question. The search for an answer led us to research, finally it became a »Jugend forscht« (lit. Youth explores) project which gave some new answers for this question. Especially, wood ants like Formica polyctena were tested for their maximal capacity.
On these webpages you will find some information about this project, a lot of pictures, an extended abstract of the report (the full version is available in German language only) and some more details about common wood ant species in our region in mid-west Germany.
Of course, we worked closely together with the vice president of the German »Ameisenschutzwarte« (ant protection society), Dipl.-Biol. Dieter Bretz, to respect nature protection during our observations and laboratory experiments. Also, we got some advice from the president of the scientic commitee of the Ameisenschutzwarte, Professor Dr. Alfred Buschinger.
We hope you will find the answer to your question at our website.
Limburg/Lahn, in the year 2001
Harald G. Grohganz, Thomas Jung, Niko Steiof