title: How do groups of red imported fire ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) feed on a droplet of sugar water?
abstract: Many previous studies have focused on the foraging behaviors and strategies of the red imported fire ants, Solenopsis invicta Buren on solid food or granular bait; little attention has been paid to how liquid sugar is fed upon. In the present study, behavioral responses of S. invicta to 25% sucrose water droplets were observed. Five foraging patterns were identified in S. invicta colonies under laboratory conditions: (i) no feeding, no sucrose water feeding was observed; (ii) surround feeding, ants surrounded and fed along the edge of the sucrose droplet; (iii) stacked feeding, ants stacked and fed along the edge of the sucrose droplet; (iv) droplet-break feeding, ants broke the liquid droplet and sucked sucrose water that spread on surface of the substance or soil particles previously transported by ants; and (v) cover feeding, whole surface of the sucrose droplet was covered by layers of feeding ants. This is the first time cover feeding in S. invicta has been reported, which obviously requires more ants compared to the other patterns. In addition, individual ants were tracked in videos under laboratory conditions, and behavioral repertoires that led to stacking, covering and droplet-breaking were identified and described. The field investigation showed that surround feeding was most frequently performed by S. invicta foragers; however, cover feeding was not observed under field conditions during this study. Both laboratory and field studies showed colony-level variations in sugar-water feeding.
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Key Laboratory for Innovation Development and Utilization of Forest Plant Germplasm, College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Cai
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge, LA, USA.
authors.forename: Xuan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA.
authors.forename: Linda M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Hooper-Bùi
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge, LA, USA.
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Strecker
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Key Laboratory for Innovation Development and Utilization of Forest Plant Germplasm, College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Yu-Zhen
authors.initials: YZ
authors.lastname: Wen
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Key Laboratory for Innovation Development and Utilization of Forest Plant Germplasm, College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Wen-Quan
authors.initials: WQ
authors.lastname: Qin
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Key Laboratory for Innovation Development and Utilization of Forest Plant Germplasm, College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Key Laboratory for Innovation Development and Utilization of Forest Plant Germplasm, College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Zhao-Hui
authors.initials: ZH
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Key Laboratory for Innovation Development and Utilization of Forest Plant Germplasm, College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Yang
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Key Laboratory for Innovation Development and Utilization of Forest Plant Germplasm, College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Xiu-Jun
authors.initials: XJ
authors.lastname: Wen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001000:Ants; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D013395:Sucrose
chemical_list: D013395:Sucrose
keywords: Solenopsis invicta; colony variation; foraging; liquid food; sugar water