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The Effect of Sugar Concentrations

The Effect of Sugar Concentrations on Ant Feeding Habits Celeste Arbizu Xavier Guerrero Ricardo Hernandez and Danika Kartchner Introduction As a concentrated source of food sugar water has repeatedly presented itself to be highly attractive to a wide variety of ant species Organic versions of artificial sugar water including extrafloral nectar for instance are produced by plants to attract beneficial ant species Lanza et al 1993 Carpenter ants crazy ants fire ants Argentine ants odorous house ants pharaoh ants dark rover ants and pavement ants alike all of which live in Arizona readily accept nectar as a food source Tamayo 2014 Lanza et al 1993 Josens et al 2006 Buys 1987 Kay et al 2010 While artificial mixtures of sugar water do not contain amino acids found in extrafloral nectar ants may continue to obtain essential nutrients from such a solution It has been found that ants that partake in carbohydrate intensive nectars experience higher working rates and an increased ability to maintain territorial dominance in a selective area Davidson 1997 Furthermore Dussutour and Simpson found that initially Solenopsis saevissima Solenopsis geminata Lasius niger etc chose to feed from solutions of a higher concentration of sugar when given a choice between feeding from an 18 sugar solution a 9 sugar solution and a 4 5 sugar solution Dussutour and Simpson 2008 Therefore the question Do ants prefer to eat from solutions of a higher concentration of sugar than solutions of a lower concentration of sugar is worthy of consideration

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