Resumen de Structures built by Solenopsis geminata (Fabricius,1804) near fern nectaries
Jorge Luis Avila Núñez, Luis D. Otero
Some species of ants build structures away from the nests using soil particles and plant debris. This peculiar building behavior can be displayed near plant food sources, such as extrafloral nectaries, in which the structures apparently work as shelters that protect ants from competitors and parasitoids. Here we report similar structures observed near the nectarsecreting glands of croziers of the fern Pteridium caudatum in a field study plot. Workers of the tropical fire ant Solenopsis geminata were seen moving between these aggregates and feeding on nectaries. We also observed structures composed of soil aggregates and plant debris apparently used as shelters by S. geminata workers which went in and out from them. We suggest that this building behavior might be an opportunistic strategy of S. geminata to monopolize the exploitation of these energy-rich sources facing the sympatric ant Pheidole radoszkowskii, a frequent visitor of the nectaries and a highly aggressive competitor.
