Comparative foraging ecology of north temperate ants: The role of worker size and cooperative foraging in prey selection

Abstract

The common North Temperate open-field antsLasius neoniger, Formica schaufussi, Myrmica americana, andMonomorium minimum overlap temporally in foraging activity as well as in the sizes of arthropod prey in their diets. Arthropod prey were taken by both individual workers and cooperative worker groups, and species differed in the proportion of prey in the diet retrieved by each method. Although prey size was significantly correlated with worker size for individually retrieved prey, when cooperative foraging was considered worker size did not serve as a consistent predictor of prey choice. Contrasting social strategies of foraging and the evolution of worker body size differences are discussed.