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Reclaiming Lost Territory: The Response Of Owyhee Harvester Ants To Forager Intrusions By Neighboring Colonies, Brett D. Howell, Ian C. Robertson

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Neighboring colonies of the Owyhee harvester ant, Pogonomyrmex salinus, often share nonoverlapping foraging boundaries in the areas between their nests. We found that interactions between neighbors along these foraging boundaries were infrequent but peaceful, and usually resulted in one or both individuals becoming agitated and scurrying away in opposite directions. Interactions between neighbors were necessary to maintain the foraging ranges of their respective colonies. An exclusion experiment showed that when one colony of a pair situated 5-7 m apart was denied access to its foraging range, individuals from the other colony would usually (i.e., in 7 out of 10 cases) …