Direct ingestion of plant sap from cut leaves by the leaf-cutting ants Atta cephalotes (L.) and acromyrmex octospinosus (reich) (Formicidae, Attini)

1976 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 205-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Littledyke ◽  
J. M. Cherrett
Keyword(s):  
Plant Material ◽  
Atta Cephalotes ◽  
Fungus Garden ◽  
Acromyrmex Octospinosus ◽  
Substrate Preparation ◽  
Fungus Culture ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Leaf Cutting ◽  
Laboratory Colonies ◽  
Reduced Drinking

AbstractIngestion of radiolabelled plant juices from cut surfaces of leaves during foraging and during substrate preparation for the fungus garden was demonstrated for laboratory colonies of the leaf-cutting ants Atta cephalotes (L.) and Acromyrmex octospinosus (Reich). Using P32 isotope, up to one-third of the radioactivity in the leaves was taken in directly by the colony as a whole, but this was much less when C14 was used. Additional plant material was taken in by the ants via the fungus garden. Large numbers of ants spend time in investigating cut surfaces of leaves and also in cutting and crimping leaves. Ingestion of plant material during these processes could play an important nutritional role in the colony and this may explain why many ants return from foraging apparently unladen. Large ants obtained most of their plant juice intake during foraging and the medium and small ants took much of theirs during substrate preparation. Inhibitory chemicals did not affect cutting but they reduced drinking and also reduced the intake of P32 from leaves during substrate preparation. The ants also ingested different amounts of P32 from leaves of different acceptability. It is suggested that leaf-cutting ants use fungus culture as a means of ‘sidestepping’ plant inhibitors. Nutrients are ingested directly from leaves when these are palatable, and the less palatable components are made available to the ants via the fungus.

The chemical basis for the use of citrus pulp as a fungus garden substrate by the leaf-cutting ants Atta cephalotes (L.) and Acromyrmex octospinosus (Reich) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

1978 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 673-685 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Mudd ◽  
D. J. Peregrine ◽  
J. M. Cherrett
Keyword(s):  
Lipid Fraction ◽  
Single Component ◽  
Atta Cephalotes ◽  
Fungus Garden ◽  
Acromyrmex Octospinosus ◽  
Chemical Basis ◽  
Citrus Pulp ◽  
Leaf Cutting ◽  
Lipid Components

AbstractComponents of dried citrus pulp were isolated and tested for arrestant activity for Atta cephalores (L.) and Acromyrmex octospinosus (Reich). Both lipid and non-lipid components contributed to the acceptability of the pulp. Arrestant activity was greater in the non-lipid fraction. Sucrose was found to be the most active single component of the non-lipids. The arrestant properties of the pulp were attributable to the particular balance of constituents rather than to any single component. The results are compared with the response of other insects to similar phytochemical stimuli.

Olfactory responses of the leaf-cutting ants Atta cephalotes (L.) and Acromyrmex octospinosus (Reich) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the laboratory

1978 ◽  
Vol 68 (2) ◽  
pp. 273-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Littledyke ◽  
J. M. Cherrett
Keyword(s):  
Essential Oils ◽  
Atta Cephalotes ◽  
Fungus Garden ◽  
Acromyrmex Octospinosus ◽  
Olfactory Responses ◽  
Leaf Cutting ◽  
Lemon Oil ◽  
Foraging Trail ◽  
Laminar Air Flow ◽  
Pheromone Trail

AbstractThe leaf-cutting ants Atta cephalotes (L.) and Acromyrmex octospinosus (Reich) were tested in a moving-air olfactometer for their responses to a variety of odours from leaves, fruit, flowers, essential oils, other ants and a fungus garden. The line of a foraging trail established in still air tended to loop downwind in the presence of a laminar air flow. The ants exhibited positive, negative and neutral responses to the test odours, confirming the existence of attractants and repellents in substrate materials. Neutral responses to the odours of several of the materials that were acceptable for cutting showed that arrestive materials were not necessarily attractive. Ants orientating towards the source of an odour often secreted a pheromone trail. Atta and Acromyrmex responded differently to several of the materials tested, and the responses to odours of young and old leaves were not totally consistent with the observed cutting preferences. Removal of wax from non-attractive leaves made them attractive. Both species responded negatively to lemon-oil odour, but some Acromyrmex workers showed a hostile response. A hostile response was also elicited by the odour from other ants. Fungus-garden odour elicited a positive investigatory response, and no response was shown to queen odour. Laden Atta workers did not respond to an odour that was attractive to unladen ants, and laden examples of Acromyrmex responded in small numbers to such odours. The addition of attractive chemicals to baits for the control of leaf-cutting ants would improve pick-up by making the bait particle easier to find.

Defence mechanisms in young and old leaves against cutting by the leaf-cutting ants Atta cephalotes (L.) and Acromyrmex octospinosus (Reich) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

1978 ◽  
Vol 68 (2) ◽  
pp. 263-271 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Littledyke ◽  
J. M. Cherrett
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Atta Cephalotes ◽  
Acromyrmex Octospinosus ◽  
Defence Mechanisms ◽  
Leaf Waxes ◽  
Young Leaves ◽  
Leaf Cutting ◽  
Laboratory Colonies ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractIn laboratory colonies of Atta cephalotes (L.) and Acromyrmex octospinosus (Reich), discs cut from young leaves of several plant species were picked up more readily than those from old leaves. Pith sections impregnated with whole extracts of young leaves were consistently picked up in preference to others with extracts of old leaves, and non-lipid extracts were consistently preferred to extracts containing lipids. Arrestive properties were confined to the non-lipid extracts, and inhibitory properties were mainly found in the lipids, but removal of lipids from the whole extracts did not necessarily make them more arrestive. In most cases, dewaxing of leaves with chloroform made them more acceptable, and heating and freezing of leaves had a similar effect. Leaf waxes showed inhibitory properties. Wax extract of young leaves was often preferred to that of old leaves, and differences in preferences were observed for wax extracts from different plant species. The implications of these findings for the relationship between leaf-cutting ants and the vegetation that they cut are discussed.

Variability in the selection of substrate by the leaf-cutting ants atta cephalotes (L.) and acromyrmex octospinosus (Reich) (Formicidae, Attini)

1975 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Littledyke ◽  
J. M. Cherrett
Keyword(s):  
Physical Nature ◽  
General Level ◽  
Chemical Information ◽  
Foraging Activity ◽  
Atta Cephalotes ◽  
Acromyrmex Octospinosus ◽  
Leaf Cutting ◽  
Laboratory Colonies ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Selection Of

AbstractIn laboratory colonies of Atta cephalotes (L.) and Acromyrmex octospinosus (Reich) pick-up responses to paper discs impregnated with arrestant and inhibitory solutions and feeding responses to measured amounts of these solutions were progressively increased by increasing the concentration of arrestants and decreasing the concentration of inhibitor; the inhibitor had a much greater effect on feeding than on pick-up. Both species picked up paper discs impregnated with arrestants and Acromyrmex readily incorporated these into the fungus garden, while Atta did this less readily. Foraging of arrestive paper discs presented regularly for several days was maintained by Acromyrmex but declined in Atta. Both species were less selective during periods of high foraging activity and during a shortage of suitable substrate. Incoming foragers did not seem to influence the preferences of the outgoing ants, but different colonies showed different preferences. Initially little preference was shown for new materials but on subsequent encounters widely fluctuating preferences emerged, which stabilised within two weeks. Over longer time periods further changes in preferences occurred. The ants' pick-up, cutting or feeding response to a particular material is determined by its chemical and physical nature, the amount of chemical information which the ants obtain, and the threshold of their response. This threshold is modified by such factors as the genetic composition of the colony, the previous quantitative and qualitative availability of the substrate, and the general level of foraging activity. Practical implications of these findings for toxic bait production are discussed.

Rates of growth of the food fungus of the leaf-cutting ant Atta cephalotes (L.) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) on different substrates gathered by the ants

1979 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Mudd ◽  
G. L. Bateman
Keyword(s):  
Nutrient Availability ◽  
Plant Material ◽  
Growth Inhibitors ◽  
Atta Cephalotes ◽  
Leaf Extracts ◽  
Relative Growth ◽  
Relative Growth Rates ◽  
Foraging Preferences ◽  
Leaf Cutting ◽  
Rates Of Growth

AbstractGrowth of the food fungus of the leaf-cutting ant Atta cephalotes (L.) on extracts of plants selected by the ants was shown to be affected by the plant species, the pH of the extract, the concentration of the sap or plant extract and pretreatment of the substrate by the ants. It was not possible to establish an unambiguous relationship between the rate of growth of the fungus on leaf extracts and the foraging preferences of the ants for the leaves. There were indications, however, that the fungus grows most rapidly on extracts of plant material preferred by A. cephalotes. Relative growth rates of the fungus on different substrates may be related to the presence of growth inhibitors rather than to nutrient availability.

Aerial baiting to control leaf-cutting ants (Formicidae, Attini) in Trinidad. II. Field application, nest mortality and the effect on other animals

1973 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 275-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Lewis
Keyword(s):  
Distribution Patterns ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Field Application ◽  
Cultivated Land ◽  
Atta Cephalotes ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Acromyrmex Octospinosus ◽  
Leaf Cutting

AbstractAircraft were used to apply a bait containing aldrin, soyabean oil and citrus meal against leaf-cutting ants (Acromyrmex octospinosus (Reich) and Atta cephalotes (L.)) in Trinidad. The distribution patterns of bait applied by different aircraft were measured. Plain bait applied at 2.2 kg/ha to an uncultivated island in the dry season destroyed 91% of nests of Acromyrmex, and waterproofed bait applied in the wet season to cultivated land on the mainland destroyed 85%. Small nests of Atta were also destroyed by this treatment but large nests in forest required much heavier dosages applied to the nest itself. Lizards and crabs living in the baited areas were contaminated with aldrin but there was no evidence to show that they were harmed.

scholarly journals Vibration of the plant substrate generated by workers' stridulation during fungus garden cultivation in Atta laevigata (Smith) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-112
Author(s):  
Amanda Aparecida Carlos ◽  
Eduardo Arrivabene Diniz ◽  
Sandra Verza Da Silva ◽  
Odair Correa Bueno
Keyword(s):  
Social System ◽  
Plant Material ◽  
Laser Vibrometer ◽  
Fungus Garden ◽  
Chemical Interactions ◽  
Symbiotic Fungus ◽  
Atta Laevigata ◽  
Eucalyptus Leaves ◽  
Vibrational Signals ◽  
Leaf Cutting

Abstract. The communication between leaf-cutting ants occurs through chemical interactions and sound, which are important processes in the complex social system of these organisms. Studies have focused on the characterization and importance of stridulation and vibration of the substrate for ants in general. However, for leaf-cutting ant species, little information is available about the characterization and the function of vibration of the substrate during preparation and incorporation of plant material into the symbiotic fungus by workers. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to describe the vibration in Eucalyptus leaves generated by the stridulation of Atta laevigata (Smith) workers during processing and incorporation of the plant material into the symbiotic fungus, and to discuss its possible function. Vibrational signals were recorded with a laser vibrometer. The amplitudes of the emitted signals varied according to the behaviors performed, that is, each behavior showed a characteristic amplitude. Thus, the vibration in the leaves probably can aid in the efficiency of these ants during the processing of the vegetal material for the incorporation in its symbiont.Vibração do substrato vegetal gerada pela estridulação de operárias durante o cultivo do fungo em Atta laevigata (Smith) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)Resumo. A comunicação entre as formigas cortadeiras ocorre por meio da interação química e do som, processos importantes no complexo sistema social destes organismos. Existem vários estudos enfocando a caraterização e a importância da estridulação e vibração do substrato para as formigas em geral. Contudo, pouco se tem descrito para as espécies de formigas cortadeiras sobre a caracterização e função da vibração do substrato durante o preparo e a incorporação do material vegetal pelas operárias no fungo simbionte. Assim, o presente trabalho descreveu a vibração nas folhas de Eucalyptus sp. gerada pela estridulação das operárias de Atta laevigata (Smith) durante o processamento e incorporação destas folhas no fungo simbionte, além de interpretar sua possível função. Os sinais vibratórios foram gravados com um vibrômetro a laser. As amplitudes dos sinais emitidos variaram conforme os comportamentos executados, ou seja, cada comportamento apresentou uma amplitude característica. Desse modo, a vibração nas folhas provavelmente pode auxiliar na eficiência dessas formigas durante o processamento do material vegetal para a incorporação no seu simbionte.

A field comparison of the modes of action of aldrin and mirex for controlling colonies of the leaf-cutting ants Atta Cephcdotes (L.) and Acromyrmex Octospinosus (Reich) (Formicidae, Attini)

1974 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 609-618 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. J. Peregrine ◽  
J. M. Cherrett
Keyword(s):  
West Indies ◽  
The Other ◽  
Atta Cephalotes ◽  
Acromyrmex Octospinosus ◽  
Killing Field ◽  
Modes Of Action ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Leaf Cutting ◽  
The Difference

AbstractTwo toxic baits, one containing aldrin and the other containing mirex, were compared for their effectiveness in killing field colonies of Atta cephalotes (L.) and Acromyrmex octospinosus (Reich) in Trinidad, West Indies. The fate of these two toxicants within tie nests was followed by using radiolabelled bait. Of the two baits, mirex appeared to be more acceptable to both species of ant. With Acromyrmex, the ratio of living to dead fungus gardens was not affected by the bait used, whereas with Atta there was a significant difference, aldrin killing many more gardens than mirex. For both species the proportion of medium-sized workers radiolabelled was significantly greater than for the other castes, and mirex marked greater numbers of all castes than did aldrin. Greatly different proportions of Atta workers were radiolabelled in the different fungus gardens of a nest with both baits. More radioactivity was detected in the fungus gardens treated with mirex, the difference being significant for Atta but not for Acromyrmex. Mirex bait particles incorporated into the fungus gardens were significantly smaller than aldrin bait particles, indicating different degrees of comminution by the ants.

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