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INDIVIDUAL FOOD CHOICES BY FORAGERS FROM THE SPECIES ACROMYRMEX OCTOSPINOSUS (REICH), THE LEAF-CUTTING ANT

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 May 2012

Pierre Therrien
Pierre Therrien*
Affiliation:
University of British Columbia, Department of Plant Sciences and Institute of Animal Resource Ecology, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6T 1W5
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Abstract

Foragers from the species Acromyrmex octospinosus (Reich) were given a choice between four different plant discs in the laboratory: Manihot esculenta (Crantz.) (cassava) varieties A and B; Ipomea batatas (L.) (sweet potato); and Dioscorea cayenensis cayenensis (Lam.) (yellow yam). Disc pick-up was not random among 8 of 11 individual foragers nor for the whole colony. Variations in preference were observed between days of the experiment and between foragers for the same day. Some foragers were not seen every day of the experiment. Variations between foragers might be an effect of age or genetic make-up. The existence of such variation may be adaptive for the colony as it ensures a better sampling of the plants available around the nest and avoids problems that would arise from the disappearance of a plant if it were the exclusive source of substrate for the colony.

Résumé

En laboratoire, des ouvrières d'Acromyrmex octospinosus (Reich) avaient le choix entre des disques de 4 plantes (manioc variété A et B, patate douce et igname jaune). La collecte des disques ne se faisait pas au hasard pour 8 des 11 ouvrières marquées et pour la colonie. Des variations de préférence ont aussi été observées entre les jours d'expérimentation pour la colonie et pour les 11 individus marqués combinés, de même qu'entre les ouvrières pour une même journée. Certaines ouvrières marquées étaient absentes à certaines journées d'expérimentation. Les variations de choix entre les ouvrières peuvent être dues à un effet de l'âge ou à des variations génétiques. Ces variations dans le choix peuvent être bénéfiques pour la colonie puisqu'elles permettent de mieux échantillonner les plantes disponibles autour du nid, et évitent les problèmes pouvant surgir de la disparition d'une espèce utilisée exclusivement comme substrat.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Memoirs of the Entomological Society of Canada , Volume 120 , Supplement S146 , 1988 , pp. 123 - 130
Copyright
Copyright © Entomological Society of Canada 1988

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Footnotes

1

Present address: Départment de biologie, Pavillon Vachon, Université Laval, Ste-Foy, Québec, Canada G1K 7P4.

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