Relação entre o tamanho das operárias da formiga-cortadeira Atta Sexdens (hymenoptera: formicidae) e o tamanho dos fragmentos vegetais transportados

Abstract

The leaf-cutting ants that belong to the genera Atta and Acromyrmex are the most studied genera of the Attini tribe due to the diverse ecological aspects, and for causing economic losses, attacking several species of plants, being considered pests for agriculture and the forestry sector. They grow a symbiote fungus using the different vegetables they forage as a substrate. During foraging, the workers cut and transport plant fragments along the anthill tracks. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between the weight of foraging workmans and the weight of the fragments of leaves transported (loads) during the foraging of different plant species. Five nests of Atta sexdens were selected with foraging activity on at least one of the trails, on the campus of the Federal University of Tocantins. The collections of workers and their loads took place in the months of December 2021 to February 2022, at night (from 19:00 to 22:00). During this period, four collections were performed in each selected nest, two collections performed in different nests each night. In each collection, sixty workers were sampled and their respective loads, per nest, randomly by manual collection or with the aid of a tweezer. It was made the registration of plants foraged by the workers in each colony sampled, as well as the recording of temperature and relative humidity at the time of collection. The results showed a correlation between the body weight of the workers and the weight of the load, in the foraging of different plants. The load capacity of smaller workers was higher than that of large workers. Climatic factors (temperature and relative humidity) did not vary enough during the collection period to alter the foraging pattern of individuals of different sizes.