Abstract
On a tamarisk tree Tamarix mannifera which had an ant nest at its base, there were 750 ants collecting honeydew; there was a ratio of ants:cicadas of c1:1. Each ant made 6 trips from the nest to the cicada clusters and each trip required c2hr. Daily energy expenditure per ant was 1.51-1.68 J; total expenditure for all 750 ants was 1.13-1.26kJ/day. Honeydew intake per trip was 0.54mg dry matter or 10.51 J, and the total energy brought into the nest was 37.37kJ/day. Total energy expenditure of the ants was only 2.4-2.7% of the total intake and 97.3-97.7% remained for social life and for larval development and queen reproduction. -from Authors
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 75-80 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Journal of Arid Environments |
Volume | 15 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1 Jan 1988 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
- Ecology
- Earth-Surface Processes