Eciton hamatum
Encyclopedia
Eciton hamatum is a species
of army ant
in the subfamily Ecitoninae
, present from Mexico
to central Brazil
and Bolivia
. This species differs from many others in that it does not fan out into the underbrush when foraging. Rather, it forages in columns, often in trees and preying exclusively on the larva
e of other social insects. Prey are often broods of vespid wasps and ants of genera Dolichoderus
and Camponotus, suggesting that E. hamatum is mainly an arboreal forager.
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of army ant
Army ant
The name army ant is applied to over 200 ant species, in different lineages, due to their aggressive predatory foraging groups, known as "raids", in which huge numbers of ants forage simultaneously over a certain area, attacking prey en masse.Another shared feature is that, unlike most ant...
in the subfamily Ecitoninae
Ecitoninae
Most New World army ants belong to the subfamily Ecitoninae. This subfamily is further broken into two groups in the New World, the tribes Cheliomyrmecini and Ecitonini. The former contains only the genus Cheliomyrmex, and the tribe Ecitonini contains four genera, Neivamyrmex, Nomamyrmex, Labidus,...
, present from Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
to central Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
and Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
. This species differs from many others in that it does not fan out into the underbrush when foraging. Rather, it forages in columns, often in trees and preying exclusively on the larva
Larva
A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...
e of other social insects. Prey are often broods of vespid wasps and ants of genera Dolichoderus
Dolichoderus
Dolichoderus is a large genus of ants found worldwide.-Taxonomy:The ants of the neotropical genus Monacio were revised in 1959 by Kempf. However, Brown in 1973 and G. C. Wheeler and J. Wheeler in 1973 and 1976 considered both Monacis and Hypoclinea to be junior synonyms of...
and Camponotus, suggesting that E. hamatum is mainly an arboreal forager.