Food Preference and Patterns of Foraging Activity of the Southern Fire Ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Abstract

We investigated foraging patterns of the southern fire ant, Solenopsis xyloni (McCook), using combinations of readily available foods that might be incorporated into a bait mixture. Choice tests conducted to determine the most attractive diet for S. xyloni included preference tests for each of 4 particle sizes. Freeze-dried diets were more attractive than oven-baked diets, and diets made with freeze-dried chicken eggs and anchovies were the most attractive. A particle size of diet of 11-20 mesh (840-2,000µn) resulted in the largest amount of diet removed by the colony. The smallest particle size, 40 mesh (420-590µm), had the most particles removed by workers but yielded the least amount of diet brought into the ant colony. S. xyloni is primarily a nocturnal forager, whose foraging begins ≈4 h before sunset and whose maximal foraging occurs between 2 and 7 h after sunset. There was considerable seasonal intracolony variation, but the maximal amount of diet was taken in June, August, and October.