Micro- and nanoplastics (MNP) have recently received particular attention in freshwater and marine ecosystems, but less is known about their impact on terrestrial species. Ants can be used as biological indicators for many types of pollutants and are therefore a good candidate to explore the effects of MNP pollution. In the present study, we investigated the ability of workers from seven colonies of the acrobat ant Crematogaster scutellaris to detect MNP in their food. After two days of starvation, groups of ten ants were tested for their preference toward control and polyethylene-treated solutions. Every 5 min over a total 20 min period, the number of workers feeding on either solution was counted. The results showed that C. scutellaris workers could detect and avoid contaminated food, feeding more often on the uncontaminated solution in the first 10 min. However, after 10 min the food preference was no longer significant between the groups, likely owing to feeding satiation. We then assessed whether this feeding behaviour is sufficient to cause the accumulation of MNP in the ant. We thereby provided a solution containing fluorescent MNP (fMNP) at the same concentration as in the previous experiments. Observation of the ants' mouthparts using fluorescent light microscopy showed that after 10 min dense aggregations of fMNP were visible. Further investigations are needed to understand the mechanisms of detection of MNP by ants, and the accumulation dynamics in ants' bodies. Moreover, the effects of MNP on the integrity and fitness of ant colonies, as well as the potential transfer across terrestrial trophic chains should be explored.

Università degli Studi di Firenze Dipartimento di Biologia Via Madonna del Piano 6 50019 Sesto Fiorentino Italy

Università degli Studi di Firenze Dipartimento di Biologia Via Pier Antonio Micheli 3 50121 Firenze Italy

Université de Rennes CNRS ECOBIO [ ] UMR 6553 35000 Rennes France; Institut Universitaire de France 1 Rue Descartes 75231 Paris cedex 05 France

Université de Rennes CNRS ECOBIO [ ] UMR 6553 35000 Rennes France; Università degli Studi di Firenze Dipartimento di Biologia Via Madonna del Piano 6 50019 Sesto Fiorentino Italy

University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice South Bohemian Research Center of Aquaculture and Biodiversity of Hydrocenoses Faculty of Fisheries and Protection of Waters Zátiší 728 2 389 25 Vodňany Czech Republic

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