3.3 | Bioassay using filter paper as dummy seed
Ants did not carry the dummy seeds to the nest in 90 min but did in 72 h (Table S3). A total of 30 out of 840 odor-treated dummy seeds were carried to the nest. Comparing the number of removed dummy seeds for each odor treatment, the six-odor-mixture treatment were carried most to the nest according to the GLMM analysis (Table 2, Figure 4).
Of the 30 dummy seeds carried, 17 were discarded (Figure 5). The rest of the seeds carried was left inside the nests. The chi-square test was performed on the six categories and included the four compartments, the empty area, and the nest, and there was a significant bias (P = 0.0002). When we performed the chi-square test on four compartments of the dummy seeds, glass beads, water-moistened glass beads, cotton wool, and water-moistened cotton wool, the distribution was also significantly biased (P = 0.0032) and most of seeds were discarded on moistened glass beads (Figure 5).