Geology topics
Publications and source records attributed to Joan H. Fellers.
Rates at which scavengers located three types of dead insects were measured. All dead insects were taken by ants with a median time of 3.75 min (range 0.33-36 min). This gives strong indirect evidence that such food is in short supply.
The Crater District of Haleakala National Park was surveyed for ants. Three species were found. Argentine ants (Iridomyrmex humilis) occurred only within I km of the park headquarters and the nearby research facility. Hypoponera opaciceps was found in small numbers throughout the Crater District. Cardiocondyla emeryi was present only at the head of Kaupo Gap. Possible impacts of these ant species on the endemic, flightless insects of the park are discussed.
Four species of myrmicine ants, Aphaenogaster rudis , A. treatae , A. tennesseensis , and A. fulva , use pieces of leaf, mud, and sand grains as tools to carry soft foods from distant sources to the colony. Tools are tended on the food and removed by colony members without regard to which individual brought the tool. Food is gathered more efficiently by tool use than by internal transport. Tool-using behavior may increase the competitive ability of A. rudis in an interspecific dominance hierarchy.