''Ectatomma opaciventre'' is a South American species of ant from the subfamily
Ectatomminae
Ectatomminae is a subfamily of ants in the poneromorph subfamilies group containing four extant and three extinct genera in two tribes. The subfamily was created in 2003 when Barry Bolton divided the Ponerinae subfamily into six subfamilies.
...
. In the Brazilian savannah, nests occur at low density and in specific microhabitats.
Basic biology
''E. opaciventre'' is polydomous.
Nests are excavated in soil and can be up be up to 68 cm deep, and comprise multiple sub-chambers.
Foraging ecology
The foraging ecology of ''E. opaciventre'' has been studies in detail. Workers forage diurnally, scavenging and predating live arthropods (primarily leaf cutter ants and termites). Opportunistically consuming dead and alive animal protein is typical of ''
Ectatomma
''Ectatomma'' is a Neotropical genus of ants in the subfamily Ectatomminae. The genus contains 17 described extant species and one extinct species.
Distribution and habitat
''Ectatomma'' is one of the most common genera in the Neotropical regi ...
''. However, ''E. opaciventre'' has the least diverse diet of studied ants from the genus, and unlike others, does not collect liquid food. They forage individually, and show individual-level spatial fidelity in foraging habits ('path fidelity').
Behavior
Temporal polyethism
''E. opaciventre'' exhibits temporal polyethism, with young workers performing more brood care and allogrooming than older workers.
Nest relocation
In response to disturbance, ants may migrate nest. Various mechanisms are used by different species, including
tandem running
Tandem running is a pair movement coordination observed in ants and termites.
In ants, tandem running is used for social learning, by which one ant leads another native ant from the nest to the food source it has found. Tandem running is also us ...
,
pheromone trail Trail pheromones are semiochemicals secreted from the body of an individual to affect the behavior of another individual receiving it. Trail pheromones often serve as a multi purpose chemical secretion that leads members of its own species towards a ...
laying, and 'adult transport' where workers carry adult nest-mates. ''E. opaciventre'' shows exclusively adult transport, with workers (and winged gynes) carrying workers, winged gynes, queens and males. This differs from other closely related species e.g., ''E. quadridens'', which lay trails.
Other
* Trophic egg laying. Workers appear capable of laying trophic eggs.
* Wallpapering. When a new callows eclose, other workers collect the pupal case ('puparium') and use it to line the nest walls.
This behaviour is also documented in other ponerine species
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q13603098
Ectatomminae
Insects described in 1919