Browsing by Author "Cannon, Colleen A."
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- Demography, cold hardiness, and nutrient reserves of overwintering nests of the carpenter ant Camponotus pennsylvanicus (De Geer) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)Cannon, Colleen A. (Virginia Tech, 1990-10-09)Overwintering nests of C. pennsylvanicus were dissected and censused. All castes were assayed for glycerol and for changes in nutrient reserves. Spring queens were collected at swarming and allowed to initiate nests. Queens were analyzed for nutrient reserves during the early stages of nest founding. Overwintering nests contained large proportions of larvae and alates. Physical associations within the winter nest were evident between majors and alates, and between larvae and the queen; minors were associated with larvae to a lesser degree. Reproductives and larvae were negatively correlated, and worker caste ratios shifted according to whether an area was dominated by larvae or alates. Winter nest temperatures followed ambient temperatures, though fluctuations were less extreme. Glycerol was detectable in all castes and stages. Major and minor workers were similar in nutrient content. Lipid and protein contributed greater than 80% of dry weight, glycogen less than 20%, and free sugars less than 10%. Lipid was progressively depleted through winter. Majors lost most protein and dry weight between November and January, minors between February and April. Glycogen changes emulated mean ambient temperature patterns. Overwintering gynes possessed large reserves of lipid, up to approximately 62% in mid-winter. Glycogen levels rose and fell with mean ambient temperatures. Most nutrient reserves in founding queens were depleted from the head/thorax region between swarming and first larval emergence; between larval emergence and first worker eclosion, significant losses occurred only in the gaster. Protein alone increased significantly in the gaster prior to larval emergence, after which it was depleted.
- Insect bait(United States Patent and Trademark Office, 1998-12-22)An insect bait specifically formulated for the biology, feeding behavior and food preferences of carpenter ants preferably includes the following ingredients: sucrose and/or fructose sugars; alkali or alkaline earth salts such as sodium chloride, potassium chloride, magnesium chloride, and calcium chloride; urea; and amino acids and/or proteins. Ideally, the bait has a matrix material that has a gelatinous consistency, and, most preferably, the matrix material is agar. Fats and oils are not preferred by carpenter ants; therefore, the use of these materials in the insect bait should be minimized or eliminated. By combining an insecticide with the bait, the material is used to effectively control and eliminate carpenter ant infestations.
- Nutritional Ecology of the Carpenter Ant Camponotus pennsylvanicus (De Geer): Macronutrient Preference and Particle ConsumptionCannon, Colleen A. (Virginia Tech, 1998-06-12)The nutritional ecology of the black carpenter ant, Camponotus pennsylvanicus (De Geer) was investigated by examining macronutrient preference and particle consumption in foraging workers. The crops of foragers collected in the field were analyzed for macronutrient content at two-week intervals through the active season. Choice tests were conducted at similar intervals during the active season to determine preference within and between macronutrient groups. Isolated individuals and small social groups were fed fluorescent microspheres in the laboratory to establish the fate of particles ingested by workers of both castes. Under natural conditions, foragers chiefly collected carbohydrate and nitrogenous material. Carbohydrate predominated in the crop and consisted largely of simple sugars. A small amount of glycogen was present. Carbohydrate levels did not vary with time. Lipid levels in the crop were quite low. The level of nitrogen compounds in the crop was approximately half that of carbohydrate, and exhibited seasonal dependence. Peaks in nitrogen foraging occurred in June and September, months associated with the completion of brood rearing in Camponotus. In choice tests, foragers demonstrated a preference for sucrose, fructose, and glucose, the most common honeydew sugars. Sucrose was preferred over other sugars in laboratory and field tests. Consumption rates peaked at a concentration of 20%. Casein hydrolysate and processed fish products stimulated the most feeding in choice tests of protein foods. Though a variety of lipids of plant and animal origin were offered in both field and laboratory tests, they were generally ignored. No effect of time was observed during choice tests of macronutrient preference. Overall, nitrogenous food was collected four-fold more intensively than carbohydrate, in contrast to the results obtained from examinations of the crop contents. These data suggest that accessible nitrogen is limited in the environment. Workers readily consumed fluorescent microspheres 0.5 - 45 μm diameter. Forty-five μm microspheres were excluded from the crop. Particles 3 - 10 μm reached the crop, but were never seen in the mid- or hindguts of either major or minor workers. They also filled the infrabuccal pocket, where they were compacted into pellets. It is thought that the proventriculus contains such particles in the foregut, where they are eventually filtered from the ingluvium. Microspheres 1 μm or less were difficult to observe in the infrabuccal pocket, suggesting that they are not as effectively sequestered as larger particles. Microspheres smaller than 1 μm were seen in the mid- and hindgut of both worker castes, indicating that particles of this size are immune to the proventricular filter. Caste exerted an effect at one μm diameter, the threshold of filtering efficiency. One μm microspheres consumed by minor workers were detected in the mid- and hindgut, whereas one μm microspheres were never detected beyond the proventriculus in major workers.