were six colonies in each treatment. The low concentration sugar water consisted of 5 ml
of sugar in 120 ml of water (4.2% sugar by volume); the high concentration sugar water
consisted of 20 ml of sugar in 120 ml of water (16.7% sugar by volume). Each colony
was given half of a freezer-killed cricket (Orthoptera, Gryllidae) or half of a freezer-
killed wax worm and 7.4 ml of sugar water of the appropriate concentration every other
day. Wax worms (Lepidoptera, Pyralidae) were supplied by Armstrong’s Cricket Farm
(West Monroe, LA) and crickets were purchased at a pet supply store. These two bait
items have different nutritional value; wax worms are less than 23% protein by mass,
while crickets are more than 50% protein by mass (Finke 2002, Wang et al. 2004). While
crazy ants were receiving experimental diets, fire ant colonies were starved.
The following aggression assays were performed: 5 crazy ant workers in a Petri
dish with either 5 minor or 5 major fire ant workers, 5 crazy ant workers from one diet
treatment in a Petri dish with 5 crazy ants from a colony receiving a different diet
treatment, and 5 minor fire ants with 5 crazy ants on an experimental diet. For each
aggression assay, ants were placed in a 9-cm Petri dish with Fluon (polytetrafluoro-
ethylene)-coated sides that prevented ant escape during these periods of observation. The
Suarez scale (Suarez et al. 1999) was then used to score the behavior of pairs of
interacting ants every minute for either 5 or 10 minutes, depending on the species
combination: 0 -no interaction (i.e., ants ignored each other), 1 - touching with antennae,
2 - avoidance, 3 - aggression (such as biting antennae or legs), and 4 - fighting (both ants
engaged). The average aggression score for each pairing was then calculated using all
scores from the duration of observation, including the zeroes representing ants that were
not interacting. The number of ants from each treatment or colony engaged in fights was
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