Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The dietary spectrum of the namib desert dune antCamponotus detritus

Comportement fourrageur et nutrition de la fourmi Camponotus detritus dans le désert de Namibie

  • Published:
Insectes Sociaux Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Summary

The major food ofCamponotus detritus throughout the year was found to be honeydew excreted by aphids and scale insects present on the perennial vegetation in the dune habitat. This was supplemented by pollen, nectar, dead animal material and possibly bird and lizard faeces. Moisture was obtained from honeydew as well as directly from condensed fog water and occasional rain. The gasters of workers were capable of considerable distention, allowing them to take up from 48–84% of their body weight in liquid. Workers generally foraged individually, although recruitment to new food sources was sometimes observed. No food stores were found.

Resume

La nourriture principale deC. detritus au cours de l'année consiste en exsudats sucrés d'Homoptères présents sur la végétation pérenne des dunes. Cette nourriture est complétée par du pollen, du nectar, des débris d'animaux morts et, peut-être, des fèces d'oiseaux et de lézards. L'eau nécessaire à la vie des fourmis est obtenue à partir du miellat, de l'eau de condensation des brouillards et, de temps à autres, des pluies. Les gastres des ouvrières sont capables d'une grande tension leur permettant d'absorber de 48 à 84% de leur poids en liquide. Le plus souvent les ouvrières récoltent individuellement, une certaine collaboration dans la collecte de nouvelles ressources alimentaires ayant parfois été observée. On n'a jamais localisé de réserves dans les nids.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ayre G.L., 1963. — Laboratory studies on the feeding habits of seven species of ants.Can. Entomol., 95, 712–715.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bernard F., 1960. — Notes écologiques sur diverses fourmis sahariennes.Trav Inst. Rech. Sahariennes Univ. Alger, 19, 51–63.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burns D.P., 1973. — The foraging and tending behaviour ofDolichoderus taschenbergi (Hymenoptera, Formicidae).Can. Entomol., 105, 97–104.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chew R.M., 1977. — Some ecological characteristics of the ants of a desert shrub community in southeastern Arizona.Am. Nat., 98, 33–49.

    Google Scholar 

  • Curtis B.A., 1983. — Behavioural and physiological ecology of the Namib Desert dune ant,Camponotus detritus Emery. Unpubl. M.Sc. thesis, University of Cape Town, R.S.A.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hecht O. 1924. — Embryonalentwicklung und Symbiose beiCamponotus ligniperda.Z. S. Wiss. Zool. Leipzig, 22, 173–204.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holm E., Scholtz, C.H., 1980. — Structure and pattern of the Namib Desert dune ecosystem at Gobabeb.Madoqua (Windhoek),12, 3–39.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kolb G., 1959. — Untersuchung uber die kernverhaltnisse und morphologischen Eigenschaften symbiotischen Mikro-Organismen.Z. Morph. Oekol. Tiere, Berlin, 48, 1–71.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lévieux J., 1975. — La nutrition des fourmis tropicales. I: Cycle d'activité et régime alimentaire deCamponotus solon (Forel) (Hymenoptera, Formicidae).Ins. Soc., 22, 381–390.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lévieux J., Louis D., 1975. — La nutrition des fourmis tropicales. II: Comportement alimentaire et régime deCamponotus vividus (Smith) (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Comparaison intragénérique.Ins. Soc., 22, 391–404.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lilienstern M., 1932. — Beitrage zur Bakterium-Symbiose der Armeisen.Z. Morph. Oekol. Tiere, Berlin, 26, 110–134.

    Google Scholar 

  • Louw G.N., Seely M.K., 1982. —Ecology of Desert Organisms, Longmans, London, 194 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mahdihassan S., 1977. — The black antCamponotus compressus feeding on urea.J. Bombay Nat., Hist. Soc., 74, 197–199.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sanders C.J., 1970. — The distribution of carpenter ant colonies in the spruce-fir forests of northwestern Ontario.Ecology, 51, 865–873.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schmidt-Nielsen K., 1975. —Animal Physiology: Adaptations and Environment, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 699 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tevis L., 1958. — Seeds.Ecology, 39, 695–704.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitford W.G., Depree D.J., Hamilton P., Ettershank G., 1981. — Foraging ecology of seed-harvesting ants,Pheidole spp., in a Chihuahuan Desert ecosystem.Am. Mid. Nat., 105, 159–167.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Desert Ecological Research Unit, P.O. Box 1592, Swakopmund, South West Africa/Namibia

    B. A. Curtis

Authors
  1. B. A. Curtis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Curtis, B.A. The dietary spectrum of the namib desert dune antCamponotus detritus . Ins. Soc 32, 78–85 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02233228

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02233228

Keywords

Search

Navigation