Foraging activity and dietary spectrum of wood ants (Formica rufa group) and their role in nutrient fluxes in boreal forests

1. We monitored three different-sized wood ant (Formica aquilonia Yarrow) mounds over a 3-year period in Finnish boreal forests dominated by Norway spruce (Picea abies Karst.), to assess the seasonal temperature dependency of ant activity. Additionally, we also monitored Norway spruce trees around the mounds for descending honeydew foragers. 2. The amount of collected honeydew and prey and its composition, as well as the carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) in honeydew and invertebrate prey was also investigated. 3. The number of warm days (average temperature above 20 °C) and the amount of precipitation differed among the years. Ant activity at the mounds (but not on the trees) was highly correlated with air temperature throughout the ant-active season (May-September), but ant activity in spring and autumn was lower than in summer at similar temperatures. During all 3 years, honeydew played a major role in wood ant nutrition (78-92% of dry mass). Invertebrate prey was mainly Diptera (on average 26.2%), Coleoptera (12.5%), Aphidina (9.3%), and Arachnoida (8.5%). 4. The total amounts of C, N, and P input brought into the ant mounds in the form of food (both honeydew and prey) on the stand level were 12.6-39.0, 1.6-4.6 and 0.1-0.4 kg ha-1 year-1, respectively, which is equivalent to 2-6%, 12-33% and 27-58% of the fluxes in annual needle litterfall in typical boreal Norway spruce forests. Thus, wood ants can play a significant role in short term and local N and P cycling of boreal forest ecosystems. © 2009 The Royal Entomological Society