Brood presence and stored food do not modulate forager responsiveness to hexane extracts of insect carcasses in Temnothorax ants
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: In social insects, colony nutritional demands modulate foraging, but the underlying sensory mechanisms remain unclear.We tested whether brood presence and stored protein food alter the responsiveness of Temnothorax longispinosus ant foragers to chemical extracts of dead flies.Colonies were assigned to treatments varying brood and food cues, and foragers were tested in behavioral choice assays.Neither brood nor stored food altered workers' preference for fly extracts suggesting that changes in protein-foraging preferences are not mediated by altered individual responsiveness to the hexane-soluble fraction of dead flies, and that recognition of carcasses as protein resources may depend on additional cues.
Source: microPublication biology
Institution: University of Memphis
Language: English
Subfield: Insect Science
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7223094525