Temporal dynamics of scout release behaviour of termitophagous ponerine ant, Megaponera analis

Abstract

Abstract Megaponera analis is an obligate termitophagous species that is endemic to sub-Saharan Africa. The species forage by sending out scouts to search for termites, and once located, the scouts return to the nest to recruit nest mates. Scouts face unpredictable environmental problems, including sudden flooding, temperature changes, wind speed changes and predation by natural enemies. As a monotypic genus, M. analis has shown strong adaptive resilience to such environmental pressures; hence, its populations remain viable despite being obligate predators. We have observed 519 scouting trips from 18 different colonies separated by a large spatial area over three years to find out how long it takes for the colony to replace a scout that has likely met mercurial environmental perturbations. Study areas were at Maremani, Musina, Masebe and D’nyala Nature Reserves in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. The results suggested that colonies exhibited a tendency to deploy scouts in response to the level of starvation rather than solely relying on the absence of information from scouts already outside. However, when feedback was lacking, colonies delayed sending out scouts and dispatched a single scout after a prolonged period. The mean scouting turnover for all 519 trips was 9.36 ± 0.64 (SD) minutes. When turnover was divided into sessions, the first scouting session had a mean of 7.77 ± 12.17 (SD) minutes, while the second had 10.34 ± 18.32 (SD)minutes. The minimum turnover was zero minutes, and the maximum was 124 minutes.