Many ants can cooperatively transport large food items (either coordinated or uncoordinated during transportation), which can be rarely observed in other animals besides humans. Although these behaviors have been extensively investigated on horizontal surfaces, few studies dealt with food transport on vertical surfaces. The red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren, is an invasive ant species that commonly forages on trees. Our studies showed that S. invicta used multiple strategies to transport food items on vertical surfaces (tree trunks). Small food items (1 × 1 × 1 mm sausage) were carried and transported by individual ants, and larger food items were either collectively and directly transported or cut collaboratively first and small particles were then transported individually or collectively. Competition and deadlocks were frequently observed during individual and collective transport respectively. During cutting, groups of ants tightly fixed the food on the tree trunks by holding the edges of the food item, while other ants cut the food into smaller particles. All food items and particles were moved downward. We investigated the effects of food placement (placed on a platform or fixed on tree trunk), food shape (cuboid or flattened), particle sizes (0.45–1, 1–2, 2–3, or 3–4 mm), and placement height (20, 80, or 150 cm) on the food transport on tree trunks. Our studies are the first to show how fire ants transport food on a vertical surface, and may provide insights into the development of novel fire ant baiting systems that can be placed on tree trunks.
Baiting is one of the main methods to control subterranean termites. Many previous studies showed that subterranean termites avoid making tunnels within dry soil and feeding on dry wood, which may decrease bait infestation and consumption in drought areas. Super absorbent polymers are a group of materials that can retain large amounts of water and improve the moisture content of soil and bait matrices, and therefore may attract termites. In the present study, choice tests were conducted in the laboratory to investigate the aggregation and feeding behaviors of Formosan subterranean termites, Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki, in response to the three super absorbent polymers-sodium polyacrylate (Na-PAM), potassium polyacrylate (K-PAM), and poly(acrylamide-co-acrylic acid) potassium salt (P(AM/AA))-that were either placed within soil or filled in the void volume of baiting containers. Under dry-soil (30%-moisture) conditions, termites consumed significantly more wood in the chambers where super absorbent polymers were buried than in the control chambers (super absorbent polymer was not placed within soil). In addition, Na-PAM placed within dry soil significantly increased termite aggregation compared with the control chambers. However, no aggregation or feeding preference was detected when super absorbent polymers were placed within wet soil (60%-moisture). Also, filling super absorbent polymers into the void volume of baiting containers did not attract termites, whether the soil was dry or wet. Our study showed that placing super absorbent polymers within soil around bait stations may increase bait consumption by subterranean termites in drought locations.
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