The effect of colony size and starvation on food flow in the fire ant, Solenopsis invicta (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

@article{Howard2004TheEO,
  title={The effect of colony size and starvation on food flow in the fire ant, Solenopsis invicta (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)},
  author={Dennis F. Howard and Walter R. Tschinkel},
  journal={Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology},
  year={2004},
  volume={7},
  pages={293-300}
}
SummaryFood-sharing experiments were performed with laboratory colonies of Solenopsis invicta containing 1000, 10,000, or 20,000 workers and starved for 0, 3, 7, or 14 days. The effect of these variables was measured on the uptake of radioactive sugar water (1 M) by 1% of the colony's workers and on the trophallactic flow of food from these foragers to the remainder of the colony.Patterns of food distribution in small colonies differed significantly from those in larger nests. In 1000-ant nests… Expand
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