INTERCOLONIAL INTERACTIONS AND NESTMATE DISCRIMINATION IN THE GIANT TROPICAL ANT, PARAPONERA-CLAVATA

We examine intercolonial interactions of the giant tropical ant, Paraponera clavata, at food resources and investigate the role of nestmate recognition in these interactions. Workers near colony entrances express discrimination of nestmates from non-nestmates by attacking the latter. Foragers engage in scramble competition with non-nestmates for large ephemeral food resources; agonism may occur secondarily in this context. Nests of this species are significantly overdispersed, but discrete territorial boundaries are apparently not defended. Agonistic interactions effectively exclude non-nestmates from the area near the nest; the nestmate recognition system serves primarily to protect the nest itself.