Soil-dropping is a rarely observed interference behavior so far only documented for six phylogenetically very diverse ant species. Usually, it is employed against rival ant colonies, and may aim to plug their nest entrances to stop their foraging activities. Here, we provide the first testimony of the use of soil dropping by Tetramorium ants against other ant colonies, documenting this behavior for Tetramorium immigrans Santschi, 1927. Workers of a T. immigrans colony approaching the annual nuptial flight were observed dropping over 30 soil fragments into the nest entrance of a Camponotus barbaricus Emery, 1905 colony in Sicily (Italy) during an 80 s observation time. Fragments were all similar in size and averagely about 1.6 times larger than T. immigrans head size, and were dropped in consecutive ways to a rate of 0.7 fragments per second. Tetramorium immigrans is a recently recognized cryptic alien species, highly successful in urban environments, and whose behavioral adaptations are still little known.
Tool use in pavement battles between ants: first report of Tetramorium immigrans (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) using soil-dropping as an interference strategy / Schifani, E.; Castracani, C.; Giannetti, D.; Spotti, F. A.; Mori, A.; Grasso, D. A.. - In: INSECTES SOCIAUX. - ISSN 0020-1812. - 69:4(2022), pp. 355-359. [10.1007/s00040-022-00876-2]
Tool use in pavement battles between ants: first report of Tetramorium immigrans (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) using soil-dropping as an interference strategy
Schifani E.;Castracani C.;Giannetti D.;Spotti F. A.;Mori A.;Grasso D. A.
2022-01-01
Abstract
Soil-dropping is a rarely observed interference behavior so far only documented for six phylogenetically very diverse ant species. Usually, it is employed against rival ant colonies, and may aim to plug their nest entrances to stop their foraging activities. Here, we provide the first testimony of the use of soil dropping by Tetramorium ants against other ant colonies, documenting this behavior for Tetramorium immigrans Santschi, 1927. Workers of a T. immigrans colony approaching the annual nuptial flight were observed dropping over 30 soil fragments into the nest entrance of a Camponotus barbaricus Emery, 1905 colony in Sicily (Italy) during an 80 s observation time. Fragments were all similar in size and averagely about 1.6 times larger than T. immigrans head size, and were dropped in consecutive ways to a rate of 0.7 fragments per second. Tetramorium immigrans is a recently recognized cryptic alien species, highly successful in urban environments, and whose behavioral adaptations are still little known.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
