All sugars ain't sweet: selection of particular mono-, di- and trisaccharides by western carpenter ants and European fire ants

Abstract

Ants select sustained carbohydrate resources, such as aphid honeydew, based on many factors including sugar type, volume and concentration. We tested the hypotheses (H1–H3) that western carpenter ants, Camponotus modoc, seek honeydew excretions from Cinara splendens aphids based solely on the presence of sugar constituents (H1), prefer sugar solutions containing aphid-specific sugars (H2) and preferentially seek sugar solutions with higher sugar content (H3). We further tested the hypothesis (H4) that workers of both Ca. modoc and European fire ants, Myrmica rubra , selectively consume particular mono-, di- and trisaccharides. In choice bioassays with entire ant colonies, sugar constituents in honeydew (but not aphid-specific sugar) as well as sugar concentration affected foraging decisions by Ca. modoc . Both Ca. modoc and M. rubra foragers preferred fructose to other monosaccharides (xylose, glucose) and sucrose to other disaccharides (maltose, melibiose, trehalose). Conversely, when offered a choice between the aphid-specific trisaccharides raffinose and melezitose, Ca. modoc and M. rubra favoured raffinose and melezitose, respectively. Testing the favourite mono-, di- and trisaccharide head-to-head, both ant species favoured sucrose. While both sugar type and sugar concentration are the ultimate cause for consumption by foraging ants, strong recruitment of nest-mates to superior sources is probably the major proximate cause.

The biological significance of lipogenesis in Nasonia vitripennis

“…This increase was much higher than twofold and thus cannot be explained by the higher glucose concentration alone (figure 2). It is likely that the higher sugar concentration stimulated the females to consume higher amounts, as has been previously demonstrated in other parasitic wasps [41,42] as well as in bumblebees [43], orchid bees [44], blowflies [45] and ants [46]. Additionally, there might be physical constraints preventing the wasps from compensating concentration effects by ingesting larger volumes of the consumed sugar solution.…”

Floral and Bird Excreta Semiochemicals Attract Western Carpenter Ants

“…Thus, it is surprising that aphid-infested branches and hardhack did not attract ants. Honeydew, in particular, is consumed by many species of ants -including C. modoc (Tilles and Wood, 1986;Yamamoto and Del-Claro, 2008;Ness et al, 2010;Renyard et al, 2021) -and may constitute a 1) and desorbed with pentane/ether (1/1). HVEs were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS; Agilent 7890B GC coupled to a 5977A Series MSD).…”

“…Western carpenter ants, Camponotus modoc, as a model species in our study, are commonly found in coniferous forests along the west coast of North America (Hansen and Klotz, 2005). They forage on aphid honeydew (Tilles and Wood, 1982;Renyard et al, 2021), scavenge arthropod prey (Hansen and Akre, 1985;Tilles and Wood, 1986), and feed on bird excreta, mammal urine, and carrion (AR pers. obvs).…”

“…obvs). Of the many saccharides present in aphid honeydew, worker ants preferentially consume fructose and sucrose (Renyard et al, 2021) which are widely present also in floral nectar (Blüthgen et al, 2004;Woodring et al, 2004).…”

The temporal–spatial expression and functional analysis of three gustatory receptor genes in Solenopsis invicta using sweet and bitter compounds

“…The 2-choice behavioral assays were performed with different sugars (fructose, glucose, maltose, sucrose, trehalose, and xylose) and a bitter compound (quinine) to identify feeding stimulant and deterrent compounds. We selected different concentrations of sugars (25,50,100,250,500, and 1000 mmol/L) on the basis of sugar constituents (5%-66%) that occur naturally in honeydew and floral nectar (O'brien & Hooper-bùi, 2005;Renyard et al, 2021). Furthermore, sugar preferences in ants also sometimes differ with concentration (Horta-Vega et al, 2010).…”