Skip to main content
Log in

Development of a chemically defined diet for ants

  • Technical article
  • Published:
Insectes Sociaux Aims and scope Submit manuscript

An Erratum to this article was published on 01 May 2007

Abstract.

A chemically defined diet is a useful tool for the study of nutritional physiology of organisms. We have developed such a diet for Camponotus carpenter ants to facilitate experiments on nutritional requirements of these ants. Worker colonies of Camponotus floridanus were fed with a chemically defined diet, containing all essential minerals, amino acids, vitamins, growth factors and sucrose in an agar matrix. After 13 weeks, neither the number of raised pupae, their dry weight, nor the mortality of workers in subcolonies fed with this diet differed significantly from control colonies fed with Bhatkar-Whitcomb-agar, in addition to cockroaches and diluted honey. Therefore, this diet is adequate for a normal brood production and a maximal growth rate of C. floridanus larvae, at least for a period of three months. This diet should be suitable for ants that are able to feed on agar-based food resources in general.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to H. Feldhaar.

Additional information

Received 6 September 2006; revised 5 October 2006; accepted 18 October 2006.

An erratum to this article is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00040-007-0934-9.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Straka, J., Feldhaar, H. Development of a chemically defined diet for ants. Insect. Soc. 54, 100–104 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-007-0910-4

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-007-0910-4

Keywords.

Navigation