Foraging ecology of the nectarivorous ant Camponotus foreliz (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in a savanna-like grassland

Abstract

Foraging ecology of the nectarivorous ant Camponotus foreli (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in a savanna like grassland
Foraging activity and food collection of the ant Camponotus foreli were studied in a savanna-like grassland on the Mediterranean coast. This is a thermophilous species with diurnal activity depending on the hours of flower nectar production. Its main food sources are nectar of flowers and, to a lesser extent, aphid honeydew. Solid prey are very rare. C. foreli does not defend these food sources, and this unaggressive behaviour allows its coexistence in space and time with the other ants of the community that exploit the same resources.