Defensiveness of the fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, is increased during colony rafting

@article{Haight2005DefensivenessOT,
  title={Defensiveness of the fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, is increased during colony rafting},
  author={K. Haight},
  journal={Insectes Sociaux},
  year={2005},
  volume={53},
  pages={32-36}
}
  • K. Haight
  • Published 2005
  • Biology
  • Insectes Sociaux
Abstract.Colonies of the fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, can survive flood conditions by forming a raft of ants that floats on the water’s surface until the flood recedes or higher ground is found. Having been forced from the protection of their subterranean nests, rafting colonies are totally exposed and are without retreat. I tested the hypothesis that rafting S. invicta colonies would compensate for their elevated vulnerability by increasing their defensiveness. I measured defensiveness using… Expand
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Aggression of Solenopsis invicta towards other ants is not affected by colony rafting
TLDR
This study explores how rafting treatments affect the aggressiveness of S. invicta individuals and colonies when confronted with other ants and reports that the venom dosage in S. Invicta increases greatly during colony rafting, which suggests that the aggressivity of S.Invicta may increase after rafting along with the increase of venom dosage. Expand
Ontogeny of the Defensive Stinging Behavior of the Fire Ant, Solenopsis invicta
  • K. Haight
  • Biology
  • Journal of Insect Behavior
  • 2007
TLDR
Defensiveness is found to increase with age initially but then decline after a mid-age peak, and it is S. invicta's mid-aged workers that are the most defensive, probably because they are both physiologically and spatially the most suitable nest defenders. Expand
Raft Formation by the Red Imported Fire Ant, Solenopsis invicta
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This study shows that ants trapped under water escape by lifting themselves to the air-water interface through the use of bubbles collected from submerged substrate, and the presence of larvae was noted to increase colony survival and maximize raft longevity. Expand
Fire ants self-assemble into waterproof rafts to survive floods
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It is found that ants can considerably enhance their water repellency by linking their bodies together, a process analogous to the weaving of a waterproof fabric, in a self-assembled hydrophobic surface. Expand
Ant Brood Function as Life Preservers during Floods
TLDR
This work investigates the position and function of different colony members, and the costs and benefits of this functional geometry in rafts of the floodplain-dwelling ant Formica selysi, and shows that workers and brood are extremely resistant to submersion. Expand
Effects of sea-level rise on physiological ecology of populations of a ground-dwelling ant
TLDR
The objective of this study is to elucidate differences in inland and coastal defensiveness via micro-dissection and comparison of head width, head length, stinger length, and venom sac volume, and to test the coastal-aggression hypothesis. Expand
A Non-lethal Water-based Removal-reapplication Technique for Behavioral Analysis of Cuticular Compounds of Ants
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It is demonstrated that cuticular compounds can be extracted from workers of the red fire ant, Solenopsis saevissima, and reapplied to the cuticle of workers from a sympatric species, Camponotus blandus, while keeping the ants alive. Expand
Risk Assessment and the Effects of Refuge Availability on the Defensive Behaviors of the Southern Unstriped Scorpion (Vaejovis carolinianus)
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Evidence that scorpions’ defensive behaviors changed based on the number of refuges and that these differences may be sex specific is found, suggesting that V. carolinianus can assess risk and features of the local environment and alter their defensive strategies accordingly. Expand
Dynamics and shape of large fire ant rafts
TLDR
This study makes two improvements on a previously reported model on the construction rate of rafts numbering between 3,000 and 10,000 individuals based upon experimental observations of randomly-directed linear ant trajectories atop the raft, and predicts more accurately the growth of large rafts. Expand
The influence of colony density , temperature and 1 illumination intensity on the aggregation of fire ant , 2 Solenopsis invicta 3
Aggregation plays a basic role in the organization of social insects, and many factors 20 including environment and individual interaction can influence this behavior. In this study, we 21… Expand
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