Abstract

FIGUEROA-SANDOVAL, Benjamín et al. Production of the Escamol Ant (Liometopum apiculatum Mayr 1870) and its Habitat in the Potosino-Zacatecano High Plateau, México. agric. soc. desarro [online]. 2018, vol.15, n.2, pp.235-245. ISSN 1870-5472.

The escamol ant (L. apiculatum Mayr) is important economically for rural communities. In four localities of the Potosino-Zacatecano High Plateau, escamol ant nests were identified and their yield was determined, as well as their relation to the habitat and the population size of their colonies during the 2010 harvest of escamoles. In the nests registered the following variables were evaluated: condition of the nest, quality of the nest, amount of ants (scarce, regular and abundant), type of nesting substrate, and escamol yield. The condition of the nests was compared through Indexes of Relative Abundance, Relative Density. To determine the association between quality of the nest and amount of ants, the Observation Frequencies (OF) were used, and the independent contingencies tables of x 2. To determine the effect of the nesting substrate and the escamol yield (clean weight in g), ANOVA was performed. Seventy-seven (77) nests were found; the condition of the nest that predominated was “disturbed” (79 %), with an average relative density of 4.14 nests km-1. The OF and the x² analysis identified a higher relation (3.47) between scarce amount of ants-bad quality and regular amount of ants-very good quality (2.06) of the nest (p=0.001999). The ANOVA identified a relationship between the nesting substrate and the escamol yield (p=0.0013), with a higher yield in the nopal nesting substrate (36 %).

Keywords : xeric scrubland; preference; nesting substrates.

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