PECULIARITIES OF FEEDING AND DAILY ACTIVITY OF ANTS OF GENUS FORMICA (INSECTA, HYMENOPTERA) IN FOREST-STEPPE BIOTOPES OF SARATOV REGION
The paper presents the results of our research on the foraging activity of ants in forest-steppe biotopes of the Saratov region. The food spectrum of ants was found to include small invertebrates (mainly insects), plant seeds and aphid honeydew. Ants are able to switch to the most massive type of food. F. pratensis behaves as a species with a daytime or morning-evening activity type, depending on the weather conditions. F. rufa is a species with a daily activity type.
Dlusskiy G. M. Ants of the genus Formica. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 1967. 236 p. (in Russian).
Dlusskiy G. M. Desert Ants. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 1981. 230 p. (in Russian).
Zakharov A. A., Gorynov D. M. General methods of field ecological research. In: Proceedings of XIII All-Russian Myrmecological Symposium: Ants and Forest Protection. Nizhnij Novgorod, Izdatel'stvo Nizhegorodseogo Gosudarstvennogo Universiteta, 2009, pp. 247–256 (in Russian).
Pavlova N. S., Anikin V. V., Voronin M. Yu. Features Daily Activity Ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in Saratov Region. Izvestiya of Saratov University. New Series. Series: Chemistry. Biology. Ecology, 2013, vol. 13, iss. 4, pp. 73–76 (in Russian).
Pavlova N. S., Anikin V. V., Riga E. Yu. Biology Features of Ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in the National Park «Khvalynsky» (Saratov Region). Izvestiya of Saratov University. New Series. Series: Chemistry. Biology. Ecology, 2015, vol. 15, iss. 4, pp. 78–82 (in Russian).
Stukalyuk S. V. Daily activity in multi-species ant (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) assemblages in the mountain Crimea. Proceedings of the Russian Entomological Society, 2013, vol. 84, no. 2, pp. 114–128 (in Russian).