Premium
Energetics and foraging behaviour of the European seed harvesting ant Messor capitatus : II. Do ants optimize their harvesting?
Author(s) -
BARONIURBANI CESARE,
NIELSEN MOGENS GISSEL
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
physiological entomology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.693
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1365-3032
pISSN - 0307-6962
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-3032.1990.tb00534.x
Subject(s) - biology , foraging , nest (protein structural motif) , ant colony , energetics , horticulture , botany , agronomy , ecology , mathematics , ant colony optimization algorithms , biochemistry , algorithm
The preference in seed selection by Messor capitatus (Latreille) was studied with artificial seeds (weighted styropore spheres) in the laboratory and with natural seeds in the field. The laboratory experiments showed no strong preference for size of the artificial seeds in the range 3–8 mm (diameter). A mass of about 400 mg was selected when artificial seeds of 5‐5.5 mm were offered at different distances from the nest. In the field experiments, crushed seeds were placed 2 m from the nest and ants showed a clear preference for the size class 2.0–3.0 mm in diameter, which is much smaller and lighter than the preference for the artificial seeds. The preference of seeds from different plants showed very big variability. There was no correlation between the preference and any of the following variables of the seeds: fresh mass, dry mass, water content, energy content, and nitrogen content. No evidence for energy optimizing in food selection in Messor capitatus was found. The energetic reward of bringing any seed back to the nest will, under all normal conditions, be much higher than the energetic expenditure. For example, the energetic content in a wheat seed is about 650 Joule, which is sufficient energy for a worker ant of Messor capitatus to carry the seed for a distance of 6.5 km at a temperature of 30 o C.