STUDY OF DIFFERENT FORAGING PATHS OF THE PREDATORY NEOTROPICAL PONERINE ANT PACHYCONDYLA (= NEOPONERA) VILLOSA (HYMENOPTERA, FORMICIDAE)

Foragers of the predatory ant Pachycondyla villosa follow four types o f paths corresponding to: ''classical'' exploration, area-concentrated searching, reserve behavior and homing. During ''classical'' explorat ion, the workers maintain a posture that is characterized by closed ma ndibles, with the apices of the antennae, held 8 to 10 mm apart, place d at a height varying from 1.5 to 3 mm. The same posture is observed a t the time of ''area-concentrated'' searching when faced with a group of termites. The average speed is then lower and the paths more sinuou s, When a prey succeeds in escaping, the workers display a ''reserve b ehavior'' whereby they appear to be highly excited; they keep their ma ndibles open and move very quickly, following a path that may vary acc ording to the circumstances. It may be extremely rectilinear (generall y going in the direction of the prey), circular and then rosette-like when a prey suddenly escapes from the ants' detection, or even erratic . When homing, a behavior which is generally very directional, the wor kers burdened with small prey place their antennae foreword, tips 3 to 5 mm apart and held very close to the ground. The characteristics of the four types of paths appear to be well adapted to different situati ons (e.g., the encounter of a group of prey or the escape of a prey). A worker is able to modify its behavior accordingly and, as such, incr ease its efficacy.