Carpenter ant-microbe interactions: a focus on yeast associates

Mark E. Mankowski; Jeffrey J. Morrell

Treesearch

Carpenter ant-microbe interactions: a focus on yeast associates

Informally Refereed

Authors:

Mark E. Mankowski, Jeffrey J. Morrell

Year:

2018

Type:

Paper

Station:

Forest Products Laboratory

Source:

In: Proceedings, 2018 National Conference on Urban Entomology and Invasive Pest Ant. Cary, NC: 43-46.

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Abstract

The yeast microorganisms associated with Camponotus vicinus are discussed. Experiments where worker ants and larvae were fed holidic or nutrient deficient diets and then exposed to the yeast, Debaryomyces polymorphus showed that pupal weight was sometimes positively affected by exposure to D. polymorphus. It is speculated that the yeast may aid in more efficient assimilation of nutrients when fed nutrient-deficient diets, particularly diets lacking sterols.

Keywords

Camponotus vicinus, Debaryomyces, yeast, carpenter ants, artificial diet, brood development, sterols

Citation

Mankowski, Mark E.; Morrell, Jeffrey J. 2018. Carpenter ant-microbe interactions: a focus on yeast associates. In: Proceedings, 2018 National Conference on Urban Entomology and Invasive Pest Ant. Cary, NC: 43-46.