Foraging behavior of Pogonomyrmex owyheei in southeast Idaho

Foraging behavior of P. owyheei Cole was studied from 1977 to 1979 in Raft River Valley, Idaho. Average foraging distances were positively correlated with the estimated number of foragers per colony. Foraging trips took an average of 11.3 min, with 64% of this time spent in transit and 36% searching. Of the foragers, 75% returned with food, 21% with rock or debris, and 4% without a payload. Foraging ranges of individual colonies seldom overlapped, and aggressive encounters between ants of neighboring colonies were not observed. Concepts of territoriality may be unnecessary to explain space and resource partitioning among adjacent colonies of P. owyheei .