Fatty acids and glycerides are object recognition and carrying cues for foraging Camponotus modoc carpenter ants
Description
This data set is a supplement to an in review article titled: “Fatty acids and glycerides are object recognition and carrying cues for foraging Camponotus modoc carpenter ants”. Our full description of the methodology, results, and their interpretation can be found in the publication. Abstract from article: "During foraging and nest hygiene maintenance (removal of deceased nestmates), ants recognize objects for pickup and transport based on their surface chemicals. Diverse lipids are present on food items and deceased nestmates of ants, and the lipids oleic acid and 1,2-diolein are already well-known pickup cues. However, the effects of various lipid types on pickup behaviour by ants have not yet been rigorously compared. Using the carpenter ant, Camponotus modoc Wheeler (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), as a model species and pieces of perlite as inert objects for pickup by ants, we (1) compared the effects of fatty acids and glycerides as perlite coating on perlite pickup and transport by ants, (2) tested the effect of 1,2-diolein dose on perlite pickup, and (3) compared pickup behavior by ants in response to pickup cues that are wide-spread (oleic acid and 1,2 diolein), and commercially used in ant baits (soybean oil). Of 18 surface chemicals tested singly as perlite coating, 1,2-diolein, linoleic acid, oleic acid, trilinolenin, and triolein elicited the strongest perlite pickup behaviour. Increasing doses of 1,2-diolein correspondingly enhanced perlite pickup by ants. Oleic acid and 1,2-diolein as perlite coating prompted more perlite pickup by ants than soybean oil. Enriching soybean oil with oleic acid might enhance the pickup efficacy of granular baits by pest ants." We have uploaded our data and scripts as an R studio project. Code used to wrangle data, analyze data and generate plots can be accessed in the project folder by opening the project file. The project contains: ---Data Data files of laboratory experiments to assess ant consumption, colony growth, and mortality to amino acid formulations. ---Outputs Plots and csv files generated from data analysis. ---Scripts Scripts of R code used to wrangle data, conduct analyses, and generate outputs.