Abstract
Generally, host plant selection of leaf-cutting ants and particularly the mechanisms of selective foraging in Atta ants have been extensively studied with laboratory colonies as well as with natural colonies in the field using pick-up assays as method for both (e.g., Cherrett 1972a,b; Hubbell and Wiemer 1983; Howard 1987, 1988; Vasconcelos and Cherrett 1996; Salatino et al. 1998). However, long-term descriptive field studies are rather scarce (Rockwood 1975, 1976; Shepherd 1985; Wirth et al. 1997). Thus, for a better understanding of the factors influencing food choice under natural conditions throughout the year, it was necessary to investigate host plant selection and to determine the degree of polyphagy of A. colombica throughout an entire year.
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© 2003 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Wirth, R., Herz, H., Ryel, R.J., Beyschlag, W., Hölldobler, B. (2003). Host Plant Selection. In: Herbivory of Leaf-Cutting Ants. Ecological Studies, vol 164. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-05259-4_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-05259-4_10
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-07865-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-662-05259-4
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