B. Schatz et al., POLYETHISM WITHIN HUNTERS OF THE PONERINE ANT, ECTATOMMA-RUIDUM ROGER(FORMICIDAE, PONERINAE), Insectes sociaux, 43(2), 1996, pp. 111-118
During laboratory experiments, two categories of prey-foraging workers
were found in Ectatomma ruidum: stingers and transporters. When numer
ous live drosophila were offered to the ants, one group of hunters spe
cialized in killing the prey and another in transporting simultaneousl
y the dead drosophila to the nest. Sometimes, there was a transfer of
prey by a stinger towards a transporter, after an active soliciting of
the transporter by antennation or by using the forelegs. We found hig
h positive correlations between the colony size and the number of ants
in each subcaste. A negative correlation existed between the colony s
ize and the proportion of hunters. However, the proportion of workers
in the two behavioral subcastes of hunters was stable in spite of diff
erences in colony size. The phylogenetic interest of this type of coop
erative predation is discussed.