Does type of food matter in the foraging of household ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)?

An experiment was conducted in the urban region of Bengaluru, India for a period of one year to study whether the food preferences of some commonly occurring household ants viz. Tapinoma melanocephalum, Paratrechina longicornis, Solenopsis geminata and Monomorium latinode changed in different seasons (i.e. summer, rainy and winter). Ten different foods having varying proportions of proteins, carbohydrates and lipids were chosen for the study.  Solenopsis geminata and M. latinode showed a preference for protein and lipid-rich food in summer, while they preferred mainly lipid-rich food in the rainy and winter season.  Paratrechina longicornis and T. melanocephalum preferred carbohydrate-rich food to protein and lipid in all the seasons of the year, though the nature of carbohydrate chosen varied.  The study indicated that not only variation in the type and nature of food chosen by different ant species but there was also a difference in food choice between seasons.