Polymorphism and Foraging Behavior in
Pogonomyrmex badius
(Hymenoptera: Formicidae): Worker Size, Foraging Distance, and Load Size Associations

Ferster, Betty; Traniello, James F. A.

doi:10.1093/ee/24.3.673

Cited by 24 publications

(23 citation statements)

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“…Previous studies by Davidson (1978) on Pogonomyrmex barbatus and Crist and MacMohan (1992) on P. occidentalis showed that ants increasingly select their foraging distance with food availability (although these were shown outside their foraging range). Similar experiments on harvester ant (Rissing and Pollock 1984;Ferster and Traniello 1995) and on leaf cutting ants (Wetterer 1991) did not show any significant difference between size of food and 14 foraging distances. However, it is worth noting that the above studies were conducted either in the laboratory or under semi-field conditions using food baits.…”

supporting

confidence: 52%

Prey choice and raiding behaviour of the Ponerine antPachycondyla analis(Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Yusuf¹,

Gordon²,

Crewe³

et al. 2013

Journal of Natural History

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Termite raiding behaviour of the African poneromorp ant Pachycondyla analis was studied at Mpala, Kenya. 330 raids were observed with the raiding activity showing peaks in the morning and evening. Time spent at the termites' source was positively correlated with the numbers of termites taken. The sizes of foraging parties, number of termites taken, distance travelled and time spent at termite sources also showed a positive correlation. P. analis preyed significantly more on Microtermes spp. than they did on Odontotermes spp.but no significant differences in terms of predator efficiency even though many ants were injured in raids on Odontotermes spp. than those on Microtermes spp. Our results indicate that, P. analis seems to forage optimally, balancing the costs of energy with prey reward and, prey choices were not only influenced by prey abundance, but also by the costs of foraging, as influenced by prey defences, size and foraging behaviour.

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supporting

confidence: 52%

Prey choice and raiding behaviour of the Ponerine antPachycondyla analis(Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Yusuf¹,

Gordon²,

Crewe³

et al. 2013

Journal of Natural History

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“…This prediction has been the subject of much discussion with respect to different ant species, since such a tendency is not always detected (Wetterer, 1991;Ferster and Traniello, 1995). Evidently, one factor which might prompt a loss or decrease of the ratio between load size (prey or food particle) and distance would be the existence of a sequential co-operative transport mechanism such as that reported here, since many workers are involved in the process, each covering a portion of the total distance.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 75%

Sequential co-operative load transport in the seed-harvesting ant Messor barbarus

Reyes¹,

Haeger²

1999

Insectes Sociaux

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A mechanism for co-operative load transport was detected in the seed-harvesting ant Messor barbarus. Workers co-operated sequentially, transferring the load from one to another and thus forming what might be termed a transport chain. Although most of the colony's workers could have transported loads unaided, co-operation was prompted by the appearance of high loading ratios in the vicinity of the food source. The first worker in such a chain tended to be small or medium-sized, with a high loading ratio, while the last was larger, and had a correspondingly lower loading ratio. This strategy was of major benefit to the colony, in that it considerably reduced the time required for transport to the nest.

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“…On the one hand, increasing selection with distance was confirmed in Pogonomyrmex barbatus (Davidson, 1978) and also in P. occidentalis, although outside its normal foraging range (Crist and MacMahon, 1992). On the other hand, similar experiments on harvester (see e.g., Rissing and Pollock, 1984;Holder Bailey and Polis, 1987;Baroni-Urbani and Nielsen, 1990;Ferster and Traniello, 1995) or leaf-cutting ants (see e.g., Wetterer, 1991) failed to show any significant change in the size range of food items collected at different foraging distances.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 83%

“…Trends in selectivity of M. barbarus may also be discussed in view of basic qualitative predictions of optimal foraging theory which have been questioned for several harvester ant species since the expected tendencies were not always detected (see, e.g., Rissing and Pollock, 1984;Holder Bailey and Polis, 1987;Crist and MacMahon, 1991;Ferster and Traniello, 1995).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Correspondence between predictions of this theory and foraging behaviour in social insects has been investigated in bumblebees (see e.g., Pyke, 1978;Cartar and Dill, 1990;Harder, 1990;Waddington, 1995), honeybees (see e.g., Schmid-Hempel et al, 1985;Schmid-Hempel and Schmid-Hempel, 1987) and ants (see e.g., Traniello et al, 1984;Holder Bailey and Polis, 1987;Fewell, 1988;Crist and MacMahon, 1991;Ferster and Traniello, 1995;Fewell et al, 1996). Optimality models have recently been challenged by observations of "sub-optimal" performance at the individual level, in bees (Nunez, 1982) and ants (Kacelnik, 1993;Roces andNunez, 1993, Detrain et al, 1999).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A field assessment of optimal foraging in ants: trail patterns and seed retrieval by the European harvester ant Messor barbarus

Detrain¹,

Tasse²,

Versaen³

et al. 2000

Insectes Sociaux

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The ant Messor barbarus is a major seed predator on annual grasslands of the Mediterranean area. This paper is an attempt to relate the foraging ecology of this species to resource availability and to address several predictions of optimal foraging theory under natural conditions of seed harvesting.Spatial patterns of foraging trails tended to maximise acquisition of food resources, as trails led the ants to areas where seeds were more abundant locally. Moreover, harvesting activity concentrated on highly frequented trails, on which seeds were brought into the nest in larger numbers and more efficiently, at a higher mean rate per worker.The predictions of optimal foraging theory that ants should be more selective in both more resource-rich and more distant patches were tested in the native seed background. We confirm that selectivity of ants is positively related to trail length and thus to distance from the nest of foraged seeds. Conversely, we fail to find a consistent relationship between selectivity and density or species diversity of seed patches. We discuss how selectivity assessed at the colony level may depend on factors other than hitherto reported behavioural changes in seed choice by individual foragers.

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Polymorphism and Foraging Behavior in Pogonomyrmex badius (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): Worker Size, Foraging Distance, and Load Size Associations

Cited by 24 publications

References 0 publications

Prey choice and raiding behaviour of the Ponerine antPachycondyla analis(Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Prey choice and raiding behaviour of the Ponerine antPachycondyla analis(Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Sequential co-operative load transport in the seed-harvesting ant Messor barbarus

A field assessment of optimal foraging in ants: trail patterns and seed retrieval by the European harvester ant Messor barbarus

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