Foraging Strategies by Colony Size

The following table is from Beckers et al. 1985 (see publication for references in table). It was used to examine how colony size might influence foraging strategies. There is also evidence that colony size influences how honeydew gathering temperate ants forage upon and potentially protect homopterans.

Foraging Type = I Individual, TR Tandem recruitment, GM Group/Mass recruitment, MR Mass recruitment, TT Trunk trail, GH Group hunting

species	nest size	type	references
Acromyrmex landolti	1000	MR	Jaffe pers. comm.
Acromyrmex octospinosus	50000	MR	Blum et al. 1964; Jaffe pers. comm.
Aenictus laeviceps	85000	GH	Schneirla 1965
Aneuretus simoni	40	MR	Traniello and Jayasuriya 1981; Jayasuria and Traniello 1985
Cephalotes varians (as Zacryptocerus varians)	1000	MR	Wilson 1976; Jaffe pers. comm.
Atta cephalotes	500000	MR	Jaffe and Howse 1979; Jaffe pers. comm.
Atta sexdens	5000000	MR	Riley et al. 1974; Jaffe pers. comm.
Atta texana	10000000	MR	Moser and Blum 1963; Riley et al. 1974; Jaffe pers. comm.
Azteca forelii	50000	MR	Jaffe pers. comm.;
Camponotus aethiops	2500	I	Suzzoni pers. comm.
Camponotus pennsylvanicus	2200	MR	Pricer 1908; Traniello 1977
Camponotus sericeus	250	TR	Holldobler et al. 1974
Carebara diversa (as Pheidologeton diversus)	250000	GH	Moffet 1988
Carebara overbecki (as Ologomyrmex overbecki)	400	TT	Moffet 1986b
Carebara silenus (as Pheidologeton silenus)	100000	GH	Moffet 1988
Carebara urichi (as Erebomyrma nevermann)	180	TT	Wilson 1986
Cataglyphis bicolor	2000	I	Wehner et al. 1983
Cataglyphis cursor	1000	I	Cagniant 1983; Lenoir pers. comm.
Colobopsis truncata	50	I	Suzzoni pers. comm.
Crematogaster sumichrasti	1000	MR	Jaffe pers. comm.
Cyphomyrmex rimosus	100	I	Blum et al. 1964; Jaffe pers. comm.
Daceton armigerum	10000	I	Blum and Portocarrero 1965; Jaffe pers. comm.
Diacamma rugosum	100	I	Fukumoto and Abe 1983
Dinoponera australis	30	I	Fowler 1985
Dinoponera quadriceps	60	I	Dantas de Araujo pers. comm.
Dorylus nigricans (as Anomma nigricans)	1036800	GH	Vosseler 1905
Dorylus wilverthi (as Anomma wilverthi)	20000000	GH	Raignier and van Boven 1955
Dorymyrmex biconis (as Conomyrma bicornis)	5000	MR	Jaffe pers. comm.
Eciton burchellii	425000	GH	Schneirla 1957
Eciton hamatum	300000	GH	Schneirla 1957; Rettenmeyer 1963
Eciton rapax	275000	GH	Sudd and Franks 1987
Ectatomma ruidum	125	I	Lachaud et al. 1984
Formica aquilonia	400000	TT	Zakharov 1978
Formica bruni	1400	MR	Cherix and Maddalena-Feller 1987
Formica cunicularia	1100	I	Deffernez pers. comm.
Formica fusca	500	MR	Wallis 1964; Moglich and Holldobler 1975
Formica lugubris	40000	TT	Rosengren 1971; Breen 1979
Formica polyctena	450000	TT	Rosengren 1971; Kruk-de-Bruin et al. 1977; Horstmann 1982
Formica pratensis	60000	TT	Rosengren 1971; Jensen 1977
Formica rufa	4000000	TT	Gosswald 1951; Rosengren 1971
Formica yessensis	51000	TT	Ito 1973; Cherix 1987
Hypoponera eduardi (as Ponera eduardi)	1500	TR	Le Masne 1952; Bernard 1968
Labidus praedator	1000000	GH	Rettenmeyer 1963
Lasius fuliginosus	2500000	TT	Hainaut-Riche et al. 1980; Quinet et Pasteels 1987
Lasius niger	5500	MR	Stradling 1970; Brian 1977
Leptogenys chinensis	367	GH	Maschwitz and Schonegge 1983
Leptogenys processionalis (as Leptogenys ocellifera)	50000	MR	Maschwitz and Mulenberg 1975
Leptothorax acervorum	250	TR	Dobrzanski 1966; Buschinger 1971; Moglich et al. 1974; Moglich 1979
Leptothorax muscorum	300	TR	TR Buschinger 1966; Moglich et al. 1974
Linepithema humile (as Iridomyrmex humilis)	150000	MR	Keller pers. comm.
Mesoponera caffraria	70	TR	Levieux 1967; Agbogba 1981
Messor barbarus	8000	GM	Delye pers. comm.
Messor sanctus	3500	GM	Delye pers. comm.; Suzzoni pers. comm.
Monomorium pharaonis	800	MR	Peacock et al. 1955; Sudd 1960
Mycetomoellerius urichii (as Trachymyrmex urichii)	100	MR	Jaffe and Villegas 1985; Jaffe pers. comm.
Myrmecia gulosa	900	I	Haskins and Haskins 1950; Robertson 1971
Myrmica rubra	1000	GM	Stradling 1970; Petal 1972; Cammaerts and Cammaerts 1980
Myrmica ruginodis	2000	GM	Stradling 1970, Brian 1972; Cammaerts and Cammaerts 1980
Myrmica sabuleti	3000	MR	Brian 1972; Cammaerts and Cammaerts 1980
Myrmicaria natalensis eumenoides (as Myrmicaria eumenoides)	20000	MR	Levieux 1983
Myrmoteras barbouri	8	I	Moffet 1986a
Myrmoteras toro	22	I	Moffet 1986a
Neivamyrmex nigrescens	30000	GH	Topoffet al. 1980
Neoponera apicalis	90	I	Lachaud et al. 1984; Fresneau 1985
Neoponera commutata	400	GM	Mill 1982, 1984
Neoponera obscuricornis	100	I	Traniello and Holldobler 1984; Fresneau 1984
Neoponera villosa	500	I	Lachaud et al. 1984; Lachaud pers. comm.
Novomessor albisetosus	350	MR	Holldobler et al. 1978.
Novomessor cockerelli	350	MR	Holldobler et al. 1978.
Ocymyrmex barbiger	200	MR	Marsh 1985
Odontomachus bauri	300	I	Jaffe and Marcuse 1983
Odontomachus haematodus	500	TR	Holldobler and Engel 1978; Jaffe pers. comm.
Odontomachus troglodytes	240	TR	Dejean 1982; et al. 1964; Dejean and Bashingwa 1985
Oecophylla longinoda	480000	MR	Way 1954; Holldobler and Wilson 1978
Ophthalmopone berthoudi	400	I	Peeters and Crewe 1987
Pheidole embolopyx	300	MR	Wilson and Holldobler 1985
Pheidole fallax	10000	MR	Law et al. 1965; Jaffe pers. comm.
Pheidole pallidula	5000	MR	Detrain pers. comm.
Pogonomyrmex badius	4300	MR	Brian et al. 1967; Holldobler and Wilson 1970
Pogonomyrmex californicus	4500	MR	Holldobler and Wilson 1970; Erickson 1972
Pogonomyrmex occidentalis	3880	MR	Lavigne 1969; Holldobler and Wilson 1970
Proatta butteli	10000	MR	Moffet 1986c
Pseudomyrmex termitarius	75	TR	Jaffe pers. comm.
Pseudomyrmex triplarinus	10000	TR	Jaffe pers. comm.
Solenopsis invicta	100000	MR	Wilson 1962; Tschinkel 1987
Stigmatomma pallipes (as Amblyopone pallipes)	15	I	Traniello 1978; Lachaud pers. comm.
Strumigenys lujae (as Serrastruma lujae)	57	I	Dejean 1982
Strumigenys serrula (as Serrastruma serrula)	78	I	Dejean 1982
Strumigenys emarginata (as Smithistruma emarginata)	199	I	Dejean 1982
Strumigenys truncatidens (as Smithistruma truncatidens)	133	I	Dejean 1982
Tapinoma erraticum	1000	MR	Meudec 1979; Verhaeghe et al. 1980
Temnothorax ambiguus (as Leptothorax ambiguus)	50	TR	Talbot 1965; Moglich 1979
Temnothorax curvispinosus (as Leptothorax curvispinosus)	50	TR	Headley 1943; Talbot 1965; Moglich 1979
Temnothorax duloticus (as Leptothorax duloticus)	12	TR	Talbot 1957; Alloway 1979; Moglich 1979
Temnothorax longispinosus (as Leptothorax longispinosus)	65	TR	Headley 1943
Temnothorax nylanderi (as Leptothorax nylanderi)	280	TR	Plateau pers. comm.
Temnothorax unifasciatus (as Leptothorax unifasciatus)	325	TR	Lane 1977; Plateau pers. comm.
Tetramorium caespitum	14000	GM	Brian et al. 1967; Pasteels et al. 1987

References

• Beckers R., S. Goss, J. L. Deneubourg, and J. M. Pasteels, “Colony Size, Communication and Ant Foraging Strategy,” Psyche, vol. 96, no. 3-4, pp. 239-256, 1989. DOI:10.1155/1989/94279
• Novgorodova, T. A. 2015b. Organization of honeydew collection by foragers of different species of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): Effect of colony size and species specificity. European Journal of Entomology. 112:688-697. doi:10.14411/eje.2015.077