Skip to main content
ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #122907
Title: DIETARY HABITS AND FORAGING DYNAMICS OF SOLENOPSIS INVICTA BUREN IN OKLAHOMA

Author
item Vogt, James
item GRANTHAM, RICHARD - OKLAHOMA STATE UNIV.
item CORBETT, ERICA - OKLAHOMA STATE UNIV.
item RICE, STANLEY - OKLAHOMA STATE UNIV.
item WRIGHT, RUSSELL - OKLAHOMA STATE UNIV.

Submitted to: Imported Fire Ants Conference Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/30/2001
Publication Date: 5/30/2001
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Red imported fire ants feed on a variety of things, including insects and other arthropods, seeds, carrion, fruits and young plants. They also feed on nectar and plant sap, and tend honeydew-producing insects like aphids and treehoppers, feeding on the honeydew they secrete. The bulk of their solid diet appears to be animal in origin (small bits of insects and whole specimens of smaller insects). Prior to this study, no comparative data existed on their dietary habits and foraging dynamics in Oklahoma. We determined that the percentage of solid and liquid food fire ants collect varies according to location and season, and is probably linked to characteristics of the plant community and associated insects. Other researchers will find this information useful for modeling fire ant energetics, an important component of predictive models aimed toward understanding how far north and west the ants are likely to survive. We also discovered that over 50 percent of foraged items in a lakeshore habitat were tiny midges (immature and adult stages) that breed up near the waterline in these habitats, helping to explain why fire ants are so abundant in the land-water interface, where persons picnicking and fishing are likely to encounter them.

Technical Abstract: A study was undertaken to determine success rates of Solenopsis invicta Buren foragers and identify foraged material in four Oklahoma habitats. Foraged material was collected and identified throughout the spring, summer, and fall, and forager success rates were estimated using timed observations during spring and late summer. Characterization of the vegetation at each site coincided with observations of forager success. Success rates of S. invicta were influenced by habitat and season. A general drop in liquid success rates over time may have been due to decreased plant diversity measured at the sites from spring to late summer, and an associated decrease in honeydew-producing Homoptera. Foragers relied on a different suite of foraged items within each habitat. At the lakeshore site, dipteran adults, larvae, and pupae comprised >58 percent of foraged particles. At the wooded roadside site, termites accounted for >21 percent of foraged particles. Surprisingly, seeds were an important foraged item at the grassland and pasture sites (approx. 17 and 16 percent, respectively). Differences in forager success rates between seasons and habitats should be taken into account in construction of energy budgets; this is of particular interest for predicting survival of colonies in isolated areas outside of the larger infestation in the U.S.