Destruction of Spiderwebs and Rescue of Ensnared Nestmates by a Granivorous Desert Ant (Veromessor pergandei)

2019 ◽  
Vol 194 (3) ◽  
pp. 395-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina L. Kwapich ◽  
Bert Hölldobler
Keyword(s):  
Desert Ant ◽  
Veromessor Pergandei

scholarly journals Role of the pheromone for orientation in the group foraging ant, Veromessor pergandei

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cody A Freas ◽  
Marcia L Spetch
Keyword(s):  
Vector State ◽  
Group Foraging ◽  
Directional Information ◽  
Desert Ant ◽  
Correct Orientation ◽  
Celestial Compass ◽  
Vector Orientation ◽  
Veromessor Pergandei ◽  
Path Integrator

Role of the pheromone for orientation in the group foraging ant, Veromessor pergandei Navigation is comprised of a variety of strategies which rely on multiple external cues to shape a navigator’s behavioral output. An additional navigational challenge is coping with forces such as wind and water currents that push navigators off-course. Here, we explore the cue interactions that dictate orientation and foragers’ ability to counter course altering rotational changes in the desert ant, Veromessor pergandei. We found a cross sensory interaction between the pheromone cue and the path integrator underlies correct orientation during the inbound journey. The celestial compass provides directional information while the presence of the trail pheromone acts as a critical context cue, triggering distinct behavioral responses (vector orientation, search and backtracking). A particularly interesting interaction occurs between the pheromone and the forager’s vector state. While exposed to the pheromone, foragers orient to the vector direction regardless of vector state, while in the pheromone’s absence the current vector triggers the switch between behaviors. Such interactions maximize the foragers’ return to the nest and inhibit movement off the trail. Finally, our manipulations continuously pushed foragers away from their desired heading, yet foragers were highly proficient at counteracting these changes, steering to maintain a correct heading even at rotational speeds of ~40°/s.

Diversity of sociality in the desert ant (genusCataglyphis)

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tali Reiner Brodetzki
Keyword(s):  
Desert Ant

scholarly journals Ocelli contribute to the encoding of celestial compass information in the Australian desert ant Melophorus bagoti

2011 ◽  
Vol 214 (6) ◽  
pp. 901-906 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Schwarz ◽  
L. Albert ◽  
A. Wystrach ◽  
K. Cheng
Keyword(s):  
Desert Ant ◽  
Celestial Compass ◽  
Melophorus Bagoti

Finding the nest: inbound searching behaviour in the Australian desert ant, Melophorus bagoti

2011 ◽  
Vol 81 (5) ◽  
pp. 1031-1038 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Schultheiss ◽  
Ken Cheng
Keyword(s):  
Searching Behaviour ◽  
Desert Ant ◽  
Melophorus Bagoti

scholarly journals Publisher Correction: The Interplay between Incipient Species and Social Polymorphism in the Desert Ant Cataglyphis

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tali Reiner Brodetzki ◽  
Shani Inbar ◽  
Pnina Cohen ◽  
Serge Aron ◽  
Eyal Privman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Incipient Species ◽  
Social Polymorphism ◽  
Desert Ant

Ventilation and respiratory metabolism in the thermophilic desert ant, Cataglyphis bicolor (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)

1993 ◽  
Vol 163 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. R. B. Lighton ◽  
R. Wehner
Keyword(s):  
Respiratory Metabolism ◽  
Desert Ant ◽  
Cataglyphis Bicolor

Mating system and population structure in the desert ant Cataglyphis livida

2009 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iris Timmermans ◽  
L. Grumiau ◽  
A. Hefetz ◽  
S. Aron
Keyword(s):  
Population Structure ◽  
Mating System ◽  
Desert Ant

Population structure and sociogenetic organisation in a species with ergatoid queens, the desert ant Ocymyrmex robustior

2019 ◽  
Vol 66 (3) ◽  
pp. 389-401
Author(s):  
N. Lecocq de Pletincx ◽  
A. Kuhn ◽  
S. Aron
Keyword(s):  
Population Structure ◽  
Desert Ant

scholarly journals Accuracy and spread of nest search behaviour in the Saharan silver ant, Cataglyphis bombycina, and in the salt pan species, Cataglyphis fortis

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 1107-1117
Author(s):  
Sarah Pfeffer ◽  
Verena Wahl ◽  
Harald Wolf
Keyword(s):  
Sand Dune ◽  
Dune Sand ◽  
Search Behaviour ◽  
Feeding Site ◽  
Desert Ant ◽  
Salt Pan ◽  
Tripod Gait ◽  
Nest Search ◽  
Hard Floor ◽  
Cataglyphis Fortis

AbstractDesert ants of the genus Cataglyphis are renowned for their navigation abilities, especially for their beeline homing after meandering foraging excursions reaching several hundreds of meters in length. A spiralling nest search is performed when an ant misses the nest entrance upon completing its homebound travel. We examined the nest search behaviours of two desert ant species dwelling in different habitats—Cataglyphis bombycina living in the dunes of the Sahara and Cataglyphis fortis found in the salt pans of North Africa. The two species show distinct differences in walking behaviour. C. bombycina performs a strict tripod gait with pronounced aerial phases, high stride frequencies, and extremely brief ground contact times. In view of these peculiarities and the yielding sand dune substrate, we hypothesised that homing accuracy, and namely distance measurement by stride integration, should be lower in C. bombycina, compared to the well-studied C. fortis with less specialised walking behaviour. We tested this hypothesis in ants’ homebound runs from a feeding site in a linear channel setup. Surprisingly, the accuracies of nest searches were similar in the two ant species, and search accuracy was also independent of the walking substrate, soft dune sand or a hard floor. The spread of the nest search, by contrast, differed significantly between the two species, C. bombycina exhibiting a larger search spread. This may be interpreted as an increased path integration uncertainty due to the above locomotor specialisations, or as a compensation strategy accounting for the silver ants’ particular environmental and behavioural situation.

Water-Loss Rate and Cuticular Permeability in Foragers of the Desert Ant Pogonomyrmex rugosus

1989 ◽  
Vol 62 (6) ◽  
pp. 1232-1256 ◽  
Author(s):  
John R. B. Lighton ◽  
Donald H. Feener
Keyword(s):  
Water Loss ◽  
Loss Rate ◽  
Pogonomyrmex Rugosus ◽  
Water Loss Rate ◽  
Desert Ant ◽  
Cuticular Permeability
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