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Foraging Behaviors and Food Preferences of Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
Date
April 2021
Location
Online
Description
Ants have a large impact within the ecosystem, the behaviors they showcase provide beneficial insight into how the environment is functioning. Little knowledge is known about the foraging behavior of ants, which is important to understanding their function. This study provides detailed ethograms of foraging behaviors seen observed in ant species within the southern rural area of Delaware when introduced to selected baits. The species were identified to be Tapinoma Sessile (Odorous House Ants) and Tetramorium immigrans (Pavement Ants) with Odorous house ants comprising of the most behaviors. Temperature, diurnal patterns, and other abiotic factors affected the frequencies of ants on the study sites. Temperature fluctuations from August to October caused ant abundance to decrease overtime along with foraging periods. The foraging behaviors observed included mostly individual behaviors that displayed a fondness for sugar-containing baits out of the others offered. Although a preference for sugar was identified, the abundance of ants on the bait did not specify a preference for any specific food or increase in foraging behavior.
Presentation Type
Presentation
Foraging Behaviors and Food Preferences of Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
Online
Ants have a large impact within the ecosystem, the behaviors they showcase provide beneficial insight into how the environment is functioning. Little knowledge is known about the foraging behavior of ants, which is important to understanding their function. This study provides detailed ethograms of foraging behaviors seen observed in ant species within the southern rural area of Delaware when introduced to selected baits. The species were identified to be Tapinoma Sessile (Odorous House Ants) and Tetramorium immigrans (Pavement Ants) with Odorous house ants comprising of the most behaviors. Temperature, diurnal patterns, and other abiotic factors affected the frequencies of ants on the study sites. Temperature fluctuations from August to October caused ant abundance to decrease overtime along with foraging periods. The foraging behaviors observed included mostly individual behaviors that displayed a fondness for sugar-containing baits out of the others offered. Although a preference for sugar was identified, the abundance of ants on the bait did not specify a preference for any specific food or increase in foraging behavior.