Summary:
We recorded over the course of one year the location of nests of Myrmicaria opaciventris on five sites in the region surrounding Yaoundé (Cameroon). On these sites, the colonies are polydomous and polygynous. The size of the largest colony, which was made up of 27 nests, was evaluated at 216,575 ± 24,750 individuals of which 147,230 ± 15,336 were workers. The nests are interconnected by trails that the workers dig during the rainy season. They consist of trenches that are slowly closed to form tunnels. Thanks to these tunnels, the workers are sheltered from their predators when going from one nest to another. They also have easy access to food sources far from the nests. We noted a seasonal variation in the location of the nests. It consists of a kind of budding. Depending on the case, the initial nest might survive or end up by being abandoned during the main rainy season or early in the dry season. The spatial distribution of the nests in the field is, in general, random and the density is lower during the dry season (from 6.2 to 26.4 nests/ha) than during the rainy season (from 12.1 to 50 nests/ha).
Similar content being viewed by others
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Received 29 April 1998; revised 23 August 1998; accepted 27 August 1998.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kenne, M., Dejean, A. Spatial distribution, size and density of nests of Myrmicaria opaciventris Emery (Formicidae, Myrmicinae). Insectes soc. 46, 179–185 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/s000400050130
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s000400050130