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Natural history and foraging behavior of the carpenter ant Camponotus sericeiventris Guérin, 1838 (Formicinae, Campotonini) in the Brazilian tropical savanna

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Abstract

Camponotus sericeiventris is a polymorphic ant living in populous colonies at tropical forests and cerrado formation. This study provides a detailed account of the natural history and foraging biology of C. sericeiventris in cerrado at Ecological Station of Panga, Southeast of Brazil. The nest distribution according to vegetation physiognomies, activity rhythm, diet, and foraging patterns were described. Results showed that nests occur inside dead or live trunks, and also in branches of soft wood at cerradão and gallery forest physiognomies (approximately 1 nest/100m2), but not in the mesophytic forest. Ant activity is correlated with temperature and humidity. There is overlap in the foraging area among neighbor colonies (as far as 28 m) without evidence of agonistic interactions. Foragers leave the nest independently or in groups and frequently searched for food individually. Workers are generalistic feeders visiting flowers and extrafloral nectaries, attending Hemiptera (aphids and membracids) and Lepidoptera (Lycaenidae larvae), collecting seeds and fruits, and hunting for live preys as well as scavenging for dead animals. The great number of interactions with different plant and animals suggests that this species has an important participation in the interaction web in this environment.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Inara Leal, Jean Carlos Santos, and two anonymous referees for helpful suggestions on the manuscript. Financial support was provided to M.Y. by Capes and K.D.C. by the Brazilian Research Council (CNPq) and Fapemig. We confirm that our study comply with the current laws in Brazil, authorization number 12427-1 IBAMA.

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  1. Laboratório de Ecologia Comportamental e de Interações (LECI)—Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Conservação de Recursos Naturais—Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Caixa Postal 593, CEP 38400-902, Uberlândia, Minas Girais, Brazil

    Marcela Yamamoto & Kleber Del-Claro

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  1. Marcela Yamamoto
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  2. Kleber Del-Claro
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Correspondence to Kleber Del-Claro.

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Communicated by R.F. Oliveira

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Yamamoto, M., Del-Claro, K. Natural history and foraging behavior of the carpenter ant Camponotus sericeiventris Guérin, 1838 (Formicinae, Campotonini) in the Brazilian tropical savanna. acta ethol 11, 55–65 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10211-008-0041-6

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