INDIVIDUAL CONSTANCY OF LOCAL SEARCH STRATEGIES IN THE GIANT TROPICALANT, PARAPONERA-CLAVATA (HYMENOPTERA, FORMICIDAE)

Paraponera clavata workers engage in a period of local search after en countering a small amount of artificial nectar. Giving-up times from l ocal search are not distributed normally; there is a strong skew to lo nger times. There is no statistically significant relationship between the amount of time required to collect the food and the subsequent se arch time. Giving-up time in response to the first reward presented to an ant is positively correlated with that ant's response to a second such reward. However, giving-up times diminish when an ant is presente d with a series of rewards. Local search is a function of individual s trategies, which remain relatively constant in the short term.