Plant essential oils restrained the course of foraging behavior of individual worker ants and also influenced worker recruitment and food transport. Worker search times increased significantly among the plant oil treatments. The longest search time was observed for ants treated with essential oils of Capsicum annuum L. (Solanales: Solanaceae) and Cedrus deodara (Roxb.) G.Don (Pinales: Pinaceae). Different essential oils have significantly different effects on the recruitment of the workers, the amount of food transported, and the time spent foraging.