Summary
The myrmicine ant Decamorium uelense is a predator of small termites which feed inside their food sources of roots and plant debris. The ant uses a specialized recruitment regime to secure its prey. A scout ant searches for foraging termites and returns to the nest where it recruits a column of 10–30 ants which attack and immobilize the termites. A mass recruitment phase is then instigated, with larger numbers of ants retrieving the prey. The major prey item is Microtermes (consumed at an annual rate of 632 termites m-2), with other small termites accounting for 0.5% of the total predation. The annual predation of Microtermes in primary savanna woodland by D. uelense removes 74% of the standing population.
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Longhurst, C., Johnson, R.A. & Wood, T.G. Foraging, recruitment and predation by Decamorium uelense (Sanstchi) (Formicidae: Myrmicinae) on termites in Southern Guinea Savanna, Nigeria. Oecologia 38, 83–91 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00347826
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00347826