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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 6, 2026

A Push-pull Protocol to Reduce Colonization of Bird Nest Boxes by Honey Bees

A Push-pull Protocol to Reduce Colonization of Bird Nest Boxes by Honey Bees

Published on: September 4, 2016

Interference interactions and nest usurpation between two subordinate ant species.

Xim Cerdá¹, Javier Retana²

¹Unidad de Ecología Evolutiva, Estación Biológica de Doñana, CSIC, Apdo. 1056, E-41080 Sevilla, Spain, , , , , , ES.

|March 18, 2017

Summary

Aggressive interactions between subordinate ant species Camponotus foreli and Cataglyphis iberica often result in nest abandonment by C. iberica and nest takeover by C. foreli, challenging assumptions about interference competition.

Keywords:

Aggressive interactions Interference competition Key words Ant Nest usurpation Subordinate species

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Area of Science:

* Behavioral Ecology
* Myrmecology
* Interspecific Interactions

Background:

* Sympatric ant species Camponotus foreli and Cataglyphis iberica exhibit frequent, lethal aggressive encounters.
* These interactions, observed over years and in multiple locations, are highly specific between these two subordinate species.

Purpose of the Study:

* To investigate the nature and drivers of aggressive interactions between C. foreli and C. iberica.
* To determine if interference competition, rather than resource competition, explains these behaviors.
* To demonstrate that interference interactions are not exclusive to dominant ant species.

Main Methods:

* Long-term field observations of ant behavior and nest dynamics.
* Laboratory confrontations to confirm interspecific aggression specificity.
* Experimental manipulation (elimination of C. iberica) to assess resource competition impacts on C. foreli foraging.

Main Results:

* Aggressive encounters led to high worker mortality for both species and nest abandonment by C. iberica.
* C. foreli specifically targeted C. iberica, with no observed aggression towards or from other species.
* Eliminating C. iberica did not alter C. foreli's food collection rates or activity rhythms, refuting food competition.
* C. foreli frequently occupied C. iberica nests post-aggression, suggesting nest site competition.

Conclusions:

* Interference competition for nest sites, not resources, drives the aggressive interactions between C. foreli and C. iberica.
* The findings highlight that subordinate ant species engage in interference competition, previously thought characteristic of dominant species.
* Nest takeover by C. foreli is advantageous due to their inferior excavation skills compared to C. iberica.