Summary
Individual scouts ofFormica oreas are capable of communicating resource availability, location and quality to nest mates. Recruited foragers can perceive and respond to differences in recruitment stimuli of individual scouts. Significantly more workers followed the path of an individual scout from a more rewarding food source than from a less rewarding food source. These findings suggest recruitment in ant colonies is regulated by recruited workers “weighing” recruitment stimuli of scouts returning from numerous areas about the nest.
Resume
Chaque fourmi éclaireuse est capable de communiquer la disponibilité, le lieu et la qualité des ressources trouvées. Les fourmis ouvrières recrutées peuvent, pour récolter ces ressources, reconnaître les différences des stimuli de recrutement de chaque éclaireuse et y répondre. D'une manière significative, davantage d'ouvrières suivent le chemin de l'éclaireuse qui a trouvé la source de nourriture la plus riche. Ces résultats suggèrent que le recrutement dans les colonies de fourmis est déterminé par les ouvrières recrutées qui «savent analyser» les stimuli de recrutement des fourmis éclaireuses revenant à la fourmilière.
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Crawford, D.L., Rissing, S.W. Regulation of recruitment by individual scouts inFormica oreas Wheeler (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Ins. Soc 30, 177–183 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02223867
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02223867