Soil-Free Collection of Argentine Ants (Hymenoptera: formicidae) Based on Food-Directed Brood and Queen Movement
Abstract
The movement of Argentine ant, Linepithema humile (Mayr), colonies was studied in the laboratory. Workers transported brood from the main colony to satellite nests within 2 h. Queens also moved into the satellite nests. Up to 70% of the brood were moved out of the main colony by 48 h. Although most of the brood and queens migrated to a satellite nest 60 cm from the main nest, a substantial number of brood and queens moved 12.2 m to a nest 60 cm from a food source. We subsequently employed these findings to induce a portion of a field colony of L. humile to enter artificial colony dishes within the laboratory. Workers, brood, and queens were collected continuously and effortlessly using this technique.Downloads
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