Camponotus modoc was associated with numerous species of Homoptera in Giant Forest, Sequoia — Kings Canyon National Park, California. Ant-exclusion experiments and field observations indicated that survival of the abundant Cinara occidentalis Davidson on white fir depends on attendance by C. modoc. More of the predators, Neomysia oblonguttata (Mulsant), Deraeocoris brevis Uhler, Passaloecus cuspidatus F. Smith, Pityophyphantes sp., were found on ant-unattended than on attended aphid colonies. As aphid populations decreased, ant attendance per aphid and number of predators/aphid increased. Attended aphid colonies were more likely to survive to produce oviparae and a lower proportion of alates.
Factors eliciting copulatory behavior in mature maleHylobius abietis were studied in the laboratory. Dead female weevils were sexually attractive, while dead mature males and pentane-extracted female weevils were not. The sexual attractiveness of dead females declined with time after death. Pentane extracts of whole female weevils or of the anterior or posterior parts of their bodies elicited a copulatory response when applied to decoys. In contrast, extracts of hindgut or frass were inactive. Juvenile males were sexually attractive for about four weeks, after which their attractiveness gradually declined. The results indicate that the mating stimulant is present on the body surface of female and juvenile male weevils, and it can be extracted with pentane.
The proportion of large Camponotus modoc workers returning to the nest with solid food was significantly less than that of smaller workers. The average weight of ants collected at colonies of the aphid Cinara occidentalis was significantly less than the average weight of ants collected in the vicinity of the ant nest. These data and additional observations suggest that small ants are more likely to attend aphids and transport solid food than are large ants. Some large ants may specialize in honeydew transport. Markand-recapture studies showed that workers of Camponotus modoc returned to the same trunk trails and aphid colonies from which they had previously been removed. When relocated to either the base of the tree or to the nest entrance, some workers demonstrated a capacity to recognize the original aphid colony from among as many as eight other colonies in the same tree. Some ants were observed on the same aphid colony for long periods.
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