Possible behavioral hierarchy in the food handling by Messor arenarius ants
In: Israel Journal of Ecology and EvolutionSearch for other papers by Ittai Warburg in
Current site
Google Scholar
Abstract
Messor arenarius ants are seed harvesters, that feed mainly on seeds or plant parts. This species inhabits mainly deserts in the Middle East and North Africa. In Israel, M. arenarius ants can be found in the Negev Desert and also in the Coastal Plain. This research focuses on the food-handling stages of those ants. Using food choice experiments, ants were given choices, to select between whole-wheat seeds and halves of wheat seeds cut longitudinally. In first collection rounds, the proportion of cases in which ants touched both food items using their antennae was significantly higher than forelegs touches. Similar findings were obtained in further collection rounds, when the sand or the soil at the food collection points was swept or changed after each collection round. These findings indicate a hierarchy between the food handling by the antennae and the food handling by the forelegs in M. arenarius ants. It seems that those ants smell food items by their antennae, which contain contact chemoreceptors, and afterward feel those food items by their forelegs, which contain mechanoreceptors.
Purchase
Buy instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):
Institutional Login
Log in with Open Athens, Shibboleth, or your institutional credentials
Personal login
Log in with your brill.com account
-
Ben-Mordechai, Y. (1981). Ecology of ants in the loess plain – Sede-Zin at Sede Boker. M.Sc. Thesis, Tel-Aviv University, Israel (In Hebrew).
-
Chapman, R.F. (1998). The insects – structure and function. Fourth edition, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 770 pp.
-
Culver, D.C. and Beattie, A.J. (1978). Myrmecochory in Viola: dynamics of seed-ant interactions in some West Virginia species. Journal of Ecology 66: 53–72.
-
Delye, G. (1971). Observations sur le nid et le comportement constructeur de Messor arenarius (Hymenopteres, Formicidae). Insectes Sociaux 18: 15–20.
-
Dejean, A., Lachaud, J.P. and Beugnon, G. (1993). Efficiency in the exploitation of patchy environments by the ponerine ant Paltothyreus tarsatus an ecological consequence of the flexibility of prey capture behavior. Journal of Ethology 11: 43–53.
-
Dumpert, K. (1972). Bau und verteilung der sensillen auf der antennengeibel von Lasius fuliginosus (Latr.) (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Zeitschrift für Morphologie der Tiere 73: 95–116.
-
Dumpert, K. (1978). The social biology of ants. Pitman advanced publishing program, London, UK, 298 pp.
-
Gunther, R.W. and Lanza, J. (1989). Variation in attractiveness to Trillium diaspores to a seed-dispersing ant. American Midland Naturalist 122: 321–328.
-
Hashimoto, Y. (1990). Unique features of sensilla on the antennae of Formicidae (Hymenoptera). Applied Entomology and Zoology 25: 491–501.
-
Hölldobler, B. and Wilson, E.O. (1990). The ants. Belknap Press, Cambridge, MA, USA, 732 pp.
-
O’Connel, J.T. (2018). What insects taste with their legs. Available at: http://animals.mom.me/insects-taste-legs-6960html.
-
Reinberg, D. (2012). Ants have an exceptionally high-def sense of smell. Research news, Vanderbilt University, USA. Available at: http://www.vanderbilt.edu.
-
Salisbury, D. (2012). Ants have an exceptionally high-def sense of smell. Vanderbilt University web site. Available at: http://www.vanderbilt.edu.
-
Steinberger, Y., Leschner, H. and Shmida, A. (1991). Chaff piles of harvester ant (Messor spp.) nests in a desert ecosystem. Insectes Sociaux 38: 241–250.
-
Warburg, I. (1996). Directional fidelity and patch fidelity during individual foraging in ants of the species Messor arenarius. Israel Journal of Zoology 42: 251–260.
-
Warburg, I. (2000). Preference of seeds and seed particles by Messor arenarius (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) during food choice experiments. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 93: 1095–1099.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 87 | 87 | 17 |
| Full Text Views | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 2 | 2 | 0 |
Possible behavioral hierarchy in the food handling by Messor arenarius ants
In: Israel Journal of Ecology and EvolutionSearch for other papers by Ittai Warburg in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Abstract
Messor arenarius ants are seed harvesters, that feed mainly on seeds or plant parts. This species inhabits mainly deserts in the Middle East and North Africa. In Israel, M. arenarius ants can be found in the Negev Desert and also in the Coastal Plain. This research focuses on the food-handling stages of those ants. Using food choice experiments, ants were given choices, to select between whole-wheat seeds and halves of wheat seeds cut longitudinally. In first collection rounds, the proportion of cases in which ants touched both food items using their antennae was significantly higher than forelegs touches. Similar findings were obtained in further collection rounds, when the sand or the soil at the food collection points was swept or changed after each collection round. These findings indicate a hierarchy between the food handling by the antennae and the food handling by the forelegs in M. arenarius ants. It seems that those ants smell food items by their antennae, which contain contact chemoreceptors, and afterward feel those food items by their forelegs, which contain mechanoreceptors.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 87 | 87 | 17 |
| Full Text Views | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 2 | 2 | 0 |
