Estudi de la palatabilitat de tres preferències nutricionals en formigues plaga unicolonials i multicolonials de l’àrea mediterrània

Abstract

Palatability, understood as the consumption response to a food item, is a key tool for

understanding the dietary preferences and feeding strategies of social species. This study

investigates the palatability of three types of artificial diets in various Mediterranean and

invasive ant species with differing colonial structures. The evaluated diets were:

- Unmodified Bhatkar: prepared with honey, vitamins, minerals, water, agar, and egg.

- Carbohydrate Bhatkar: Bhatkar diet without the protein component (egg).

- Protein Bhatkar: Bhatkar diet without the glucidic component (honey).

The main objective was to determine whether significant differences exist in consumption

patterns based on taxonomic proximity (subfamilies and genera), diet type, colony structure

(unicolonial or multicolonial), and seasonality. This knowledge is relevant because it helps to

better understand the nutritional preferences of each group and species, with the aim of

improving the effectiveness of bait-based treatments used in ant pest control.

For this study, six ant species were selected as representatives of ecologically relevant

contexts and problems related to human activity and biodiversity either due to their role as

domestic, urban, or forest pests, or because they are considered invasive exotic species:

Linepithema humile (Mayr, 1868), Lasius neglectus (Van Loon, Boomsma & Andrásfalvy,

1990), Tapinoma darioi (Seifert et al., 2017), Crematogaster scutellaris (Olivier, 1792), Lasius

niger (Linnaeus, 1758), and Pheidole pallidula (Nylander, 1849).

The assays were conducted during two key stages of the annual cycle: spring and autumn.

This approach allows an assessment of whether dietary preferences are modulated by

biological phases such as egg-laying or resource storage.

The results show that, in general, unicolonial ant species exhibited a strong preference for the

Bhatkar diet during spring. Multicolonial species, on the other hand, showed a more

heterogeneous consumption pattern and a less marked seasonal response.

This study contributes to the understanding of trophic ecology and the management of invasive

ant species and pests, as it opens new perspectives to analyse the relationship between food

preference, biological cycle, and social structure in pest formicid species in the Mediterranean

region

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