The raiding success of Pheidole megacephala on other ants in both its native and introduced ranges.
We studied the behaviour of the invasive African myrmicine ant, Pheidole megacephala, when confronted with colonies of other common ant species in Cameroon, a part of its native range, and in Mexico, where it has been introduced. P. megacephala raided the nests of the other ants in both cases. Eleven species out of 12 put up a rather strong resistance to raiding P. megacephala workers in Cameroon compared to only three species out of 11 in Mexico, where only colonies of Solenopsis geminata, Dorymyrmex pyramicus and Dolichoderus bispinosus resisted these raids. We conclude that P. megacephala's heightened ability to successfully raid colonies of competing ants may help explain its success and the decline of native ants in areas where it has been introduced.
Dejean
Alain
A
CNRS-Guyane (UPS 2561 and UMR-CNRS 5174), Résidence Le Relais, Cayenne, France. alain.dejean@wanadoo.fr <alain.dejean@wanadoo.fr>
Moreau
Corrie S
CS
Kenne
Martin
M
Leponce
Maurice
M
D000349:Africa; D000818:Animals; D001000:Ants / Q000502:physiology*; D002163:Cameroon; D003163:Competitive Behavior; D008800:Mexico; D013045:Species Specificity; D013731:Territoriality