The predatory behavior of Pheidole megacephala |
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Authors: | Dejean Alain Moreau Corrie S Uzac Pierre Le Breton Julien Kenne Martin |
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Institution: | CNRS-Guyane (UPS 2561 and UMR-CNRS 5174), résidence Le Relais, 16, avenue André-Aron, 97300 Cayenne, France. alain.dejean@wanadoo.fr |
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Abstract: | We studied the foraging and predatory behaviors of the invasive African myrmicine ant, Pheidole megacephala (F.) in its native range. Workers can singly capture a wide range of insects, including relatively large prey items. For still larger prey, they recruit at short range those nestmates situated within reach of an alarm pheromone and together spread-eagle the insect. These behaviors are complimented by a long-range recruitment (of nestmates remaining in the nest) based on prey size. P. megacephala scouts also use long-range recruitment when they detect the landmarks of termites and competing ant species, thus permitting them to avoid confronting these termites and ants solitarily. |
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