クロナガアリの採食行動-餌の量と分布に関連して
1982 年 32 巻 3 号 p. 383-393
詳細
1982 年 32 巻 3 号 p. 383-393
ONOYAMA, Keiichi & ABE, Takuya (Dept. Zool., Fac. Sci., Kyoto Univ., Kyoto). 1982. Foraging behavior of the harvester ant Messor aciculatus in relation to the amount and distribution of food, Jap. J. Ecol., 32 : 383-393. The foraging behavior of a colony of Messor aciculatus was studied with individual marking under natural and experimental food conditions. Each ant collected seeds of Setaria viridis var. minor on its own defined ground, passing through almost the same and almost straight course. Natural and experimental interruptions revealed strong site tenacity of foragers. When much food was experimentally supplied near the nest, the number of aboveground ants rapidly increased. When there was no food, it decreased to several in a few days but never became zero. These several ants were rather fixed members and probably played the role of scout. When much food was supplied more than 1 m from the nest, only a few ants which found the food carried it repeatedly. Foragers can transmit information about the presence but not the location of food. The foraging behavior of colony is characterized by individual foraging, site tenacity, information transmittion about the presence of food when it is much and near the nest, and the existence of scouts despite there is no food. The foraging system with these characterictics found at the individual and colony levels can efficiently function to any amount and distribution of food.
