Global Journal of Biology, Agriculture & Health Sciences

Abstract

Foraging Behaviour Following Food Contact in the Ants Pheidole Roberti

Khokan Naskar & Srimanta K. Raut

The ants Pheidole roberti were offered 10 sugar cubes ( 25- 55 mg in weight ) at 10 different sites in their foraging ground at Garia , Kolkata, India to note the foraging behaviour after their contact with the sugar cubes. It is revealed that the forager ant did not inform the colony members for collection of the sugar cubes from the supplied site rather it preferred to carry a sugar cube to the nest individually. The sugar cubes were left at the sites for a considerable length of time after detecting the same by the foragers. All the sugar cubes were carried by P. roberti depending upon the chance of contact by the subsequent foragers within 1- 286 ( average 13.8 ± 1.9 SE ) minutes to the nest.