On foraging behavior of the polymorphic tree dwelling ant Daceton armigerum (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

espanolLa hormiga arborea Daceton armigerum es excepcional en su tribu en cuanto que posee obreras altamente polimorficas. Aqui reportamos los resultados de estudios, tanto en el campo como en el laboratorio, de sus conductas de forrajeo y de reclutamiento utilizando senales quimicas. Las obreras cazan por acecho y utilizan dos estrategias diferentes para reclutar companeras de nido a fuentes de alimento. Una de estas estrategias consiste en colocar marcas de olor alrededor de la fuente de alimento para alertar y atraer a sus companeras a distancias de hasta 15 cm. Otra estrategia consiste en colocar trillas de olor de hasta varios metros, colocando una secrecion de una glandula abdominal sobre el sustrato. Esta marca quimica tiene dos efectos sobre las companeras de nido: las atrae hacia la trilla y las orienta hacia la fuente de alimento. Estas hormigas tambien utilizan trillas quimicas para conectar diferentes partes de sus nidos ubicados en cavidades diferentes en diferentes ramas de un arbol. El polimorfismo de esta hormiga correlaciona con un debil politeismo de las obreras, donde las obreras mas pequenas nunca salen del nido. EnglishThe exclusively arboreal ant Daceton armigerum is unusual in that it has highly polymorphic workers. We studied the foraging behavior and chemical recruitment to food by workers of Daceton armigerum in the laboratory and in the field. Workers hunt by ambush and use two strategies for recruiting nestmates aided by chemicals. One consists in placing chemical marks around food that recruits nestmates at distances of up to 15 cm. Another consists of trails, laid with chemicals originated from the abdomen, that can be several meters long. The chemical mark on the trail has two effects: one of attraction and other of orientation. These ants also use long lasting chemical trails to connect nest chambers distributed along diverse branches or trees. Polymorphism in this ant correlates somewhat with polyethism, as the smallest workers were never seen outside their nest.

[1]  H. Markl,et al.  Recruitment and food-retrieving behavior in Novomessor (Formicidae, Hymenoptera) , 1978, Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology.

[2]  E. Wilson,et al.  Behavior of Daceton armigerum (Latreille), with a classification of self-grooming movements in ants. , 1962 .

[3]  E. O. Wilson,et al.  Sociobiología: la nueva síntesis , 1980 .

[4]  J. Deneubourg,et al.  On foraging, recruitment systems and optimum number of scouts in eusocial colonies , 1992, Insectes Sociaux.

[5]  R. Matthews,et al.  Ants. , 1898, Science.

[6]  Wulfila Gronenberg,et al.  Trap‐jaws revisited: the mandible mechanism of the ant Acanthognathus , 1998 .

[7]  Edward O. Wilson,et al.  The multiple recruitment systems of the african weaver ant Oecophylla longinoda (Latreille) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) , 1978, Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology.

[8]  E. Morgan,et al.  Contents of poison apparatus and their relation to trail-following in the antDaceton armigerum , 1992, Journal of Chemical Ecology.

[9]  B. Hölldobler,et al.  Chemical communication in the dacetine antDaceton armigerum (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) , 1990, Journal of Chemical Ecology.

[10]  B. Hölldobler,et al.  Recruitment and food-retrieving behavior in Novomessor (Formicidae, Hymenoptera) , 1978, Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology.

[11]  M. Blum,et al.  Chemical Releasers of Social Behavior. X. An Attine Trail Substance in the Venom of a Non-Trail Laying Myrmicine, Daceton armigerum (Latreille) , 1966 .

[12]  W. Gronenberg,et al.  The trap-jaw mechanism in the dacetine ants Daceton armigerum and Strumigenys sp. , 1996, The Journal of experimental biology.

[13]  B. Bolton Ant genera of the tribe Dacetonini (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) , 1999 .

[14]  K. Jaffe Negentropy and the evolution of chemical recruitment in ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) , 1984 .

[15]  T. Jacobi,et al.  The mechanism of recruitment to mass foraging in colonies ofMonomorium venustum Smith,M. subopacum ssp.Phœnicium Em.,Tapinoma israelis For. andT. Simothi v.Phœnicium Em. , 1967, Insectes Sociaux.