Environmental Entomology (1995) 24, 673-678

Betty Ferster and James F.A. Traniello (1995)
Polymorphism and foraging behavior in Pogonomyrmex badius (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): Worker size, foraging distance, and load, size associations
Environmental Entomology 24 (3), 673-678
Abstract: The relationship between caste polymorphism and foraging strategy was examined in the Florida harvester ant, Pogonomyrmex badius (Latreille). Foragers of P. badius were offered two sizes of barley seed (4 or 33 mg) at 1, 2, 5, and 10 m from the nest entrance. No consistently significant correlations were found between forager size and the size of seed collected. Distance of seed from the nest was not associated with worker size or seed selection. In this species, it does not appear that polymorphism can be explained by simple models of foraging optimization through the pairing of worker size and seed size.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
general biology - morphology - evolution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Pogonomyrmex badius