COMPARATIVE STUDIES ON THE BEHAVIOUR OF THREE SPECIES OF ANTS (HYMENOPTERA: FORMICIDAE): I. PREY FINDING, CAPTURE, AND TRANSPORT

Methods of finding, capturing, and transporting prey by the ants Formica obscuriventris Mayr, Myrmica americana Weber, and Crematogaster lineolata (Say) were studied under laboratory conditions. Each species found its prey by random searching but once the prey was attacked by one ant a definite attraction was created for other ants in the immediate area of attack. C. lineolata and M. americana workers were also recruited by means of a trail laid to the nest. The number of ants attacking each prey varied directly with the size and general resistance offered by the prey. The worker efficiency in prey transport by F. obscuriventris and M. americana varied inversely with the number of workers involved. C. lineolata did not attempt to transport the prey but fed upon it where captured.