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Colonies of army ants are large compared to the colonies of other Formicidae. Colonies can have over 15 million workers and can transport 3000 prey (items) per hour during the raid period. [14] [20] When army ants forage, the trails that are formed can be over 20 m (66 ft) wide and over 100 m (330 ft) long. [20]
Eciton burchellii is a species of New World army ant in the genus Eciton. This species performs expansive, organized swarm raids that give it the informal name, Eciton army ant. [2] This species displays a high degree of worker polymorphism. Sterile workers are of four discrete size-castes: minors, medias, porters (sub-majors), and soldiers ...
The Mallee military dragon (Ctenophorus fordi) has a diet that consists largely of ants, with ants making up a significant portion (30-50%) of its total food intake. [15] As an ant specialist, C. fordi exploits a food source that most other lizards avoid. Ants are abundant in the sandy, arid environments inhabited by the Mallee dragon.
Neivamyrmex sumichrasti, like other army ants, live in large colonies and forage through raiding. It raids both diurnally and nocturnally. [5] The raids most often take place above ground while its bivouac sites are presumably subterranean. [8] Its diet consists chiefly of ant larvae, and it does engage in cannibalism. [5]
Eciton army ants have a bi-phasic lifestyle in which they alternate between a nomadic phase and a statary phase. In the statary phase, which lasts about three weeks, the ants remain in the same location every night. They arrange their own living bodies into a nest, protecting the queen and her eggs in the middle.
Also, unlike some New World army ants, driver ants are not specialized predators of other species of ant, instead being more generalistic with a diet consisting of a diversity of arthropods. Their colonies are enormous compared to other ant species, and can contain over 20 million individuals. [3]
Carebara species have permanent nests, while real army ants have only temporary nests (Dorylus) or form a bivouac with their own bodies (Eciton). Colonies of real army ants have only one queen, so when she dies, the workers may try to join another colony, or the rest of the colony also dies; Carebara colonies can have many (up to 16) queens.
While many species of antbirds (and other families) may opportunistically feed at army ant swarms, 18 species of antbird are obligate ant-followers, obtaining most of their diet from swarms. [5] With only three exceptions, these species never regularly forage away from ant swarms.