Colony foundation in the ponerine ant, <i>Mesoponera caffraria</i> (F. Smith) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Abstract

In the laboratory six queens of Mesoponera caffraria excavated new nests and raised their first brood alone by hunting small arthropods to feed the larvae (semiclaustral haplometrotic colony foundation). The nests consisted of two chambers. The structure of the entrance of the inner chamber, in which the brood was raised, helped to prevent other insects from entering it. Egg production followed a cyclic pattern that was co-ordinated with the periods when larvae did not require care.