We found a match
Your institution may have rights to this item. Sign in to continue.
- Title
Comparative Quantification of Trail-Following Behavior in Pest Ants.
- Authors
Vázquez, Ricardo J.; Koehler, Philip G.; Pereira, Roberto M.
- Abstract
A comparison of trail-following movement parameters of six major urban pest ants, Nylanderia fulva (Forel) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), Pheidole megacephala, Linepithema humile (Mayr), Solenopsis invicta Buren, Paratrechina longicornis (Forel), and Technomyrmex albipes (Smith) demonstrated several differences in velocity of movement, amplitude of the deviations from a marked trail, percent fidelity to the trail, number of curves per unit of trail, and trail-following accuracy. Paratrechina longicornis and N. fulva had the largest deviations from the marked trails and moved three times faster (25–30 mm/s) along the trail than the slowest ant, S. invicta (< 10 mm/s), with other ants following between these extremes. Species differences in relation to going toward or returning from food were observed in a few cases, especially with Pa. longicornis for which velocity, amplitude, and trail fidelity differed between the foraging and return trails. Quantification of ant trail-following movement parameters can be useful in understanding the mechanics of ant movement and may be important in testing specific strategies and products that disrupt trail-following behavior.
- Subjects
HYMENOPTERA; TRAILS; ANT behavior; SOLENOPSIS invicta
- Publication
Insects (2075-4450), 2020, Vol 11, Issue 1, p5
- ISSN
2075-4450
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.3390/insects11010005