PREFERENCES OF THE FIRE ANTS SOLENOPSIS-INVICTA AND S-GEMINATA (HYMENOPTERA, FORMICIDAE) FOR AMINO-ACID AND SUGAR COMPONENTS OF EXTRAFLORAL NECTARS Academic Article

abstract

• Workers of Solenopsis invicta and S. geminata were fed on artificial nectaries containing mimics of pre- and postdefoliation nectars of Impatiens sultani, which differed in amino acid content. Workers also fed from artificial nectaries containing mimics of Passiflora ambigua, P. talamancensis and P. quadrangularis, which varied in sugar composition. S. geminata workers preferred the more amino acid-rich postdefoliation mimic over the predefoliation mimic. S. invicta did not discriminate between nectars. In the sugar experiments, both species of ants preferred the nectar of P. ambigua over those of the other two Passiflora species. Nectar of P. ambigua had the lowest total sugar concentration and the lowest calorie content, ie ants do not necessarily maximize sugar energy intake as they forage. -from Authors

authors

• Vargo, Edward

published proceedings

• ENVIRONMENTAL ENTOMOLOGY

altmetric score

• 3

author list (cited authors)

• LANZA, J., VARGO, E. L., PULIM, S., & CHANG, Y. Z.

citation count

• 46

complete list of authors

• LANZA, J||VARGO, EL||PULIM, S||CHANG, YZ

publication date

• January 1993

publisher

• Oxford University Press (OUP)  Publisher

published in

• Environmental Entomology  Journal

keywords

• Amino Acids
• Nectars
• Solenopsis Spp

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

• 10.1093/ee/22.2.411

start page

• 411

end page

• 417

volume

• 22

issue

• 2

URL

• http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ee/22.2.411