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2 Polish Journal of Ecology

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Corpse carrying in ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) : behavioural side effect of aggressive arousual or competitive signaling?

Czechowski W., Marko B., Godzińska E.

Polish Journal of Ecology

2009

Vol. 57, nr 2

341-352

Some literature reports show that ants use bodies of their dead nestmates and other insect remains in conflict situations. The paper describes such phenomenon in a Formica rufa L. colony brought into conflict with a F. cinerea Mayr colony when the former tried to extend its own territory at the expense of the latter. A territorially stable F. rufa colony, neighbouring the same F. cinerea colony, served as control. Workers of the expansive F. rufa colony were repeatedly observed to carry numerous ant corpses, empty pupal cocoons and insect leftovers from their nest to the place of confrontation with F. cinerea, on a much bigger scale than workers of the stable F. rufa colony. Corpse-carrying intensity was not correlated with the general activity level of foragers which suggests that corpse carriers could be a separate task group. Workers of a small colony of F. cinerea were also observed to surround their nest entrance with corpses of their nestmates and prey remains, taken out from inside the nest, in response to intensified traffic of workers of F. rufa in the vicinity of their nest. These results are discussed in the context of a possible interrelation between ant aggressive behaviour and transport behaviour. Two hypotheses are proposed to explain the observed phenomenon: (1) explaining it as a by-product of the aggressive arousal of workers, and (2) ascribing to it a possible signalling function in conflict situations.

Competition between Formica cinerea mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and co-occurring ant species, with special reference to Formica rufa L. : direct and indirect interferences

Czechowski W., Markó B.

Polish Journal of Ecology

2005

Vol. 53, nr 4

467-489

Formica cinerea Mayr is supposed to be the top dominant of ant communities in successional sandy habitats, whereas wood ant species, e.g. F. rufa L., play this role in forests. These species often co-occur in overlapping habitats. The aim of the study was to recognize competitive interrelations between them in the broad ecological aspect of relations with local subordinate species, including F. fusca L., Tetramorium caespitum (L.) and Myrmica schencki Em. Study area was a sand dune slope surrounded by pine forest at Tvńrminne, S Finland, where F. cinerea nest complexes were encircled by F. rufa colonies. Baiting experiments, preceded by 'nudum' observations were carried out. The presumption that F. rufa would influence the activity of F. cinerea was not supported by the results. No-ant zones separated the territories of these two species almost through the total length of the boundary of the F. cinerea range. The outcome of interspecific interactions within the multi-species community studied corresponded with the species competitive status generally. The results are discussed in the context of interspecific competition hierarchy in ants and succession of ant communities.