Abstract
Despite the recognition of the functional role of Hymenoptera (ants, bees and wasps) and Isoptera (termites) in tropical ecosystems, their detailed feeding habits are not well known. To examine the feeding habits of these groups, we measured nitrogen (N) and carbon (C) stable isotope ratios (δ15N and δ13C) of hymenopterans (12 families, ≥16 genera and ≥32 species) and isopterans (one family and 10 species) collected in a tropical rain forest, Sarawak, Malaysia. We compared the isotopic signatures of these insects to those previously reported for other consumers collected in the same forest. The δ15N and δ13C values of these insects overlapped with those of the other consumers, indicating that they have access to diverse C and N sources in the forest. The δ15N values of ants and termites indicated that their feeding habits range along a continuum from herbivory (i.e. dependent on honeydew and nectar) to predation and from wood-feeders to soil-feeders, respectively. In addition, the δ15N values of wasps varied greatly from −0.1‰ (Braconidae sp.) to 8.6‰ (Bembix sp.), suggesting that their feeding habits also range from omnivory to predation. The ant species Camponotus gigas had δ13C values similar to those of invertebrate detritivores and omnivores rather than to those of invertebrate herbivores, although the diet of this species consists mostly of honeydew. This discrepancy suggests that the ant uses carbohydrates as an energy source, the isotopic signatures of which are not well retained in the body tissues. Values of both δ15N and δ13C of the predatory army ant Leptogenys diminuta and the soil-feeding termite Dicuspiditermes nemorosus did not differ significantly, indicating that both trophic level and the humification of feeding substrates can increase the isotopic signatures of terrestrial consumers.
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Acknowledgments
We thank Josef Kendawang (Forest Department, Sarawak) and Lucy Chong (Sarawak Forestry Corporation) for permission for research in Sarawak. We also thank Tohru Nakashizuka (Tohoku University) and Het Kaliang (Sarawak Forestry Corporation) for kind arrangement to conduct the field sampling, Seiki Yamane (Kagoshima University) for identification of ants and sphecid wasps and helpful discussion, Shuichi Ikudome (Kagoshima Women’s Junior College) for identification of bees and two anonymous reviewers and the Associate Editor for constructive comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript. This study was supported by Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, Japan (P3-1 and P3-5), by Grant-in-Aids (no. 17405006 to T.I., and no. 16405009 to Y.T.) and partly by Special Coordination funds for Promoting Sciences and Technology from the Japanese Ministry of Education, Science, and Culture. F.H. and T.M. were supported by the Research Fellowships of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) for Young Scientists.
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Appendix
Appendix
δ15N and δ13C values of Hymenoptera and Isoptera examined in this study.
No. | Taxa | n | δ15N (‰) | δ13C (‰) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mean (SE) | Range (min–max) | Mean (SE) | Range (min–max) | |||||||
Hymenoptera | ||||||||||
Ants | ||||||||||
Formicidae | ||||||||||
1 | Crematogaster borneensis | 5 | −1.2 (0.6) | D | hi | −2.3 to 0.8 | −33.9 (0.7) | C | g | −35.7 to −31.7 |
2 | Crematogaster difformis | 5 | 2.6 (0.5) | B | de | 1.0 to 3.7 | −26.4 (0.2) | A | ab | −27.0 to −25.9 |
3 | Camponotus gigas | 9 | 1.8 (0.4) | B | def | 0.5 to 4.3 | −26.9 (0.2) | A | ab | −27.7 to −26.2 |
4 | Leptogenys diminuta | 3 | 6.3 (0.6) | A | ab | 5.0 to 7.0 | −26.6 (0.2) | A | abc | −26.9 to −26.3 |
5 | Tetraponera attenuata | 16 | 0.3 (0.1) | C | gh | −1.1 to 1.3 | −28.4 (0.2) | B | cdef | −29.8 to −26.3 |
6 | Oecophylla smaragdina | 4 | 3.1 (0.2) | B | d | 2.6 to 3.5 | −26.5 (0.2) | A | ab | −27.1 to −26.0 |
Bees | ||||||||||
Apidae | ||||||||||
7 | Apis spp. | 3 | −2.0 (0.1) | B | ij | −2.2 to −1.7 | −25.4 (0.3) | A | a | −25.8 to −24.7 |
8 | Trigona spp. | 10 | −0.6 (0.1) | A | ghi | −1.5 to 0.0 | −27.2 (0.3) | B | abcd | −28.2 to −25.8 |
Anthophoridae | ||||||||||
9 | Amegilla sp. | 1 | −0.7 | −28.9 | ||||||
Halictidae | ||||||||||
10 | Nomia sp. | 1 | 1.0 | −31.0 | ||||||
11 | Megachilidae sp. | 1 | 1.8 | −23.2 | ||||||
Wasps | ||||||||||
12 | Braconidae sp. | 2 | −0.1 | −0.9 to 0.7 | −26.2 | −26.8 to −25.5 | ||||
13 | Ichneumonidae sp. | 4 | 5.9 (0.9) | AB | bc | 4.0 to 8.0 | −26.9 (0.7) | A | abcd | −28.6 to −24.9 |
Nyssonidae | ||||||||||
14 | Bembix sp. | 3 | 8.3 (0.9) | A | a | 6.7 to 9.9 | −25.4 (0.0) | A | a | −25.5 to −25.3 |
15 | Bembecinus sp. | 3 | 3.6 (0.7) | BC | cd | 2.2 to 4.6 | −26.5 (0.0) | A | ab | −26.6 to −26.5 |
16 | Pompilidae sp. | 2 | 7.4 | 5.4 to 9.4 | −25.3 | −26.1 to −24.5 | ||||
17 | Scoliidae sp. | 1 | 2.8 | −27.3 | ||||||
Sphecidae | ||||||||||
18 | Chalybion bengalense | 1 | 8.3 | −28.4 | ||||||
Vespidae | ||||||||||
19 | Polybioides pescas | 2 | 2.0 | 1.8 to 2.2 | −26.2 | −26.4 to −26.0 | ||||
20 | Provespa anomala | 6 | 2.3 (0.3) | C | def | 1.3 to 3.3 | −26.8 (0.1) | A | ab | −27.3 to −26.0 |
21 | Ropalidia spp. | 3 | 1.1 (0.3) | C | defg | 0.5 to 1.5 | −27.3 (0.4) | A | abcdef | −28.0 to −26.7 |
22 | Vespa affinis | 2 | 6.1 | 5.5 to 6.7 | −26.5 | −26.9 to −26.2 | ||||
Termites | ||||||||||
Isoptera | ||||||||||
Termitidae | ||||||||||
23 | Hospitalitermes hospitalis | 4 | −3.4 (0.3) | E | j | −4.0 to −2.6 | −28.9 (0.4) | B | def | −29.7 to −27.9 |
24 | Macrotermes malaccensis | 5 | −1.6 (0.2) | D | ij | −2.2 to −1.1 | −27.0 (0.4) | A | abcd | −28.4 to −26.1 |
25 | Odontotermes sarawakensis | 1 | 0.3 | −25.4 | ||||||
26 | Odontotermes denticulatus | 1 | 2.1 | −25.9 | ||||||
27 | Microcerotermes sabahensis | 4 | −0.4 (0.3) | CD | ghi | −0.9 to 0.6 | −29.2 (0.3) | B | e | −30.0 to −28.2 |
28 | Longipeditermes longipes | 3 | 0.5 (0.2) | BC | efghi | 0.1 to 0.9 | −29.3 (0.2) | B | ef | −29.6 to −29.0 |
29 | Homallotermes foraminifer | 9 | 0.7 (0.4) | B | fg | −1.0 to 2.6 | −27.6 (0.4) | A | bcdef | −29.6 to -25.9 |
30 | Prohamitermes mirabilis | 9 | 5.9 (0.2) | A | b | 5.1 to 6.6 | −27.5 (0.2) | A | bcdf | −28.1 to −26.7 |
31 | Termes rostratus | 2 | 5.6 | 4.9 to 6.4 | −25.3 | −25.4 to −25.2 | ||||
32 | Dicuspiditermes nemorosus | 4 | 6.7 (0.2) | A | ab | 6.3 to 7.2 | −26.7 (0.2) | A | ab | −27.1 to −26.2 |
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Hyodo, F., Takematsu, Y., Matsumoto, T. et al. Feeding habits of Hymenoptera and Isoptera in a tropical rain forest as revealed by nitrogen and carbon isotope ratios. Insect. Soc. 58, 417–426 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-011-0159-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-011-0159-9