NESTING AND COLONY STRUCTURE IN THE GIANT FOREST ANT, CAMPONOTUS-GIGAS (LATREILLE) (HYMENOPTERA, FORMICIDAE)

The nest of a colony of Camponotus gigas (Latreille) located in a holl ow log was fumigated and systematically opened. 784 minor workers, 45 major workers and 2 alate males were retrieved, as well as 157 larvae and 34 eggs. Although the queen was not located the presence of eggs a nd young larvae strongly suggests that it was a queenright colony and the queen was lost during the opening of the nest. Several species of other organisms were found living within the nest, including isopods, crickets (Orthoptera; Gryllidae), cockroaches (Blattodea; Blattidae), an unidentified earwig (Dermaptera) and larvae of a pyralid moth (Lepi doptera; Pyralidae). During two 24 hour observation periods an average of 133 ants were seen to leave or enter the nest, mostly at night, su ggesting that only a small proportion of workers are involved in forag ing at any given time. Marked ants from this colony were seen to enter another nest nearby, which was probably a satellite of the first nest since activity there ceased soon after the latter was destroyed.