Relative biomass and size class of ant prey Cataglyphis bicolor (Fabricius, 1793) (Hymenoptera Formicidae) in the Regha?a wetland reserve (Algeria)

摘要

This work focuses on the study of the diet of the ant Cataglyphis bicolor (Fabricius, 1793)(Hymenoptera Formicidae) in the natural reserve of the Regha?a wetland through the analysisof two nests. This study shows that Hymenoptera dominates in the trophic menu of this speciesat 92.7 % for Nest 1 and 87% for Nest 2, with a total of 60 species divided between 3 classes,10 orders and 31 families. The most consumed species by C. bicolor is Messor barbarus (Linnaeus,1767) (Hymenoptera Formicidae) with 87% (Nest 1) and 82.2% (Nest 2). In terms ofbiomass, a species of Coleoptera dominates either Ophonus sp. (B.% = 9.36 %). Messor barbarusdominates in relative abundance and has only a very small part of the biomass ingested(0.37%). The size of C. bicolor prey species is between 1 and 24 mm for Nest 1 and 1 and 30mm for Nest 2.