AVAILABLE FOOD AND ANTS’ RESPONSE

Ants are habituated to search food here and there in their foraging ground. To note their response in respect to available foods various types of foods in different sizes and numbers were offered at certain sites of their foraging ground in Garia, Kolkata, India. It is observed that both the ant species Pheidole roberti and Paratrechina longicornis started carrying the food particles instantly to the nest when they came across the sugar cubes 10 in number, offered at the site. But, in cases of availability of sugar cubes or biscuit fragments or dry fish fragments or nut particles or freshly dead mosquitoes or rice grains or papad fragments either separately or together more than 10 in number they were seen to examine the food particles at the offered sites and then moved quickly to the nest to invite the nest-mates with a view to procure these food particles.