Interactions with Plants
From seed foraging to plant removal. Pogos
interacting with the plant life around them, in North America.
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Pogonomyrmex salinus
● Wanapum Rec. Area [Kittitas Co], WA USA [el. 190 m / 623 ft] view location in Google Maps » ● 5/10/09 12:36PM sunny, air temp: 23°C / 74°F
[IMAGE 1 of 2] An attempt by Pogonomyrmex salinus workers to remove a balsamroot plant (Balsamhoriza sp.) from the vicinity of their nest. [scroll down for additional notes/references]
ADDITIONAL NOTES/REFERENCES:
On this Spring day, we came upon approx. twenty P.salinus workers apparently attempting to cut down a relatively large balsamroot plant (Balsamorhiza sp.) less than .3 m /1 ft from a nest with two entrances. [see additional images » ] Working slowly, they used their mandibles to slice out substantial portions of the leaves, which fell to the ground. We did not observe any workers retrieving the cut-out pieces, but the questions did occur: could this also be a foraging technique (with the cut-out pieces to be retrieved later?) or could the ants also be consuming liquids from the plant as they cut through these green leaves?
Returning to this site exactly 2 months later, we observed the plant still intact (though dry), with only the one leaf (that the ants are pictured on here) substantially chewed away. Considering the size of the plant, the thickness of the leaves, and the slow rate at which they were making progress, it's not surprising that they failed to remove it, if that was indeed the intention.
A plant with leaves of considerable surface area and thickness (like this balsamroot) would seem to be very challenging for these ants to cut down. Cole states: "I carefully observed occidentalis workers cutting down a large plant of wild lettuce at the base of a mound. Fourteen days of cutting were required for the plant, 12.1 centimeters high, to be reduced to a mere stump of 0.2 centimeters, only a few ants working at a time."
·Cole, A.C. 1932. The Relation of the Ant, Pogonomyrmex occidentalis CR., to its Habitat. Ohio Journal of Science, 32:133-46, Ohio State University
pogopogonomyrmexpogonomyrmex salinusants interacting with plantsmacroharvester ants
