Dieta entomofágica de los armadillos (orden cingulata) presentes en el piedemonte llanero y la altillanura colombiana

Abstract

For this research, the objective was to describe the entomophagous habits of Dasypus sabanicola, D. pastasae, Priodontes maximus and Cabassous unicinctus, as well as determine the frequency-occurrence, number of specimens in the ingestion, weight per prey and identify the importance relative of each prey. To fulfill this objective, 47 samples collected by residents of the sampling areas and directly in situ by the authors were analyzed, distributed in 279 pellets and 6 stomach contents between the months of January to October 2022. The results are It is obtained that the armadillos' intake is mainly composed of social organisms, as indicated by averaging the percentage of frequency of occurrence: lsoptera of the apicotermitinae subfamily (63.201%) and formicids of the solenopsis genus (48.729%). Additionally, a wide range of arthropods are identified as a food source for armadillos, including insects, arachnids and myriapods. The four species of annadillos have a preference for social insect organizations such as formicids and isoptera (<50%IRI) and other groups of insects such as Orthoptera, Diptera, Hemiptera, Lepidoptera and Dermaptera as accidental foods; and other groups of arthropods such as arachnids and myriapods.