Breed Michael D, Abel Paul, Bleuze Tony J, Denton Scott E
Department of Environmental, Population, and Organismic Biology, The University of Colorado, 80309-0334, Boulder, CO, USA.
Oecologia. 1990 Aug;84(1):117-121. doi: 10.1007/BF00665604.
Thievery of food items among colonies of a ponerine ant,Ectatomma ruidum was common; nonnestmates in colonies or near the colony entrances receive incoming food items and carry them to their own colony. In our study area 7 of 10 colonies were victimized by thief ants. Colonies have discrete home ranges and home range size is correlated with the number of workers in the colony. Worker ants discriminate nestmates from non-nestmates when non-nestmates are presented at colony entrances, but individuals from different colonies were not observed to engage in agonistic interactions away from nest entrances. Non-nestmates gain entrance to colonies when the entrance is unguarded. Many instances of non-nestmates being removed from colonies by residents were observed. The costs and benefits of theft under these circumstances are considered.
在一种猛蚁（Ectatomma ruidum）的蚁群中，食物盗窃现象很常见；在蚁群内或蚁群入口附近的非巢伴会获取传入的食物并将其带回自己的蚁群。在我们的研究区域，10个蚁群中有7个遭到了盗蚁的侵害。蚁群有离散的活动范围，活动范围大小与蚁群中工蚁的数量相关。当非巢伴出现在蚁群入口时，工蚁能够区分巢伴和非巢伴，但在远离蚁巢入口的地方，未观察到来自不同蚁群的个体发生争斗互动。当入口无人看守时，非巢伴会进入蚁群。观察到许多非巢伴被蚁群中的居住者驱赶出去的情况。本文考虑了在这些情况下盗窃行为的成本和收益。
