Adams Eldridge S, Traniello James F A
Department of Biology, Harvard University, 02138, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Oecologia. 1981 Jan;51(2):265-270. doi: 10.1007/BF00540612.
Workers of Monomorium minimum forage above-ground for dead arthropods. Small particles (<1 mg) are retrieved individually, but larger particles stimulate recruitment and are dissected by groups of workers. The recruitment pheromone originates in the Dufour's gland and the number of ants responding to a trail varies with pheromone concentration. When ants of other species are encountered at food resources, workers of M. minimum gaster-flag and extrude an irritating poison gland secretion from the sting. This chemical interference delays invasion by competitors and prolongs the period during which the colony can dissect and retrieve pieces of the food resource. M. minimum recruits at higher temperatures than sympatric ant species. The probability of interference at food baits rises from 5% to 100% when they become too large for a single worker to carry. The probability of food resource loss is higher for baits of intermediate weight (x=18.1 mg) than for those of low weight (x=0.1 mg) or high weight (x=403.1 mg).
小黑蚁工蚁在地面上搜寻死节肢动物作为食物。小于1毫克的小颗粒食物由单个工蚁获取，但较大颗粒的食物会吸引其他工蚁前来，并由一组工蚁共同分解。招募信息素源自杜氏腺，对踪迹做出反应的蚂蚁数量会随信息素浓度而变化。当在食物源处遇到其他物种的蚂蚁时，小黑蚁工蚁会摆动腹部并从螫针中挤出刺激性的毒腺分泌物。这种化学干扰会延迟竞争对手的入侵，并延长蚁群分解和获取食物资源碎片的时间。与同域分布的蚂蚁物种相比，小黑蚁在较高温度下进行招募。当食物诱饵大到单个工蚁无法搬运时，在食物诱饵处发生干扰的概率从5%上升到100%。中等重量（x = 18.1毫克）的诱饵比低重量（x = 0.1毫克）或高重量（x = 403.1毫克）的诱饵食物资源损失概率更高。
