How do ants communicate about food resources in a complex, three dimensional environment? I have explored this issue, using the giant tropical ant, Paraponera clavata as a model. P. clavata exhibits a surprisingly sophisticated communicatory system, centered around the facultative use of individual-specific trail pheromones. Workers of this species are able to adjust their behavior according to the value of the resource they have discovered and the distance of the resource from the colony.

In the closely related ant, Ectatomma ruidum, theft of food from nests by conspecifics is a common occurrence. We have discovered that E. ruidum workers gain entrance to other colonies by mimicking the surface chemical profile of members of the target colony. Thief ants also have reduced amounts of surface chemicals, when compared to ordinary foragers, a factor that likely facilitates entry.


Bennett, B., Breed, M.D. 1985. On the association between Pentaclethra macroloba (Mimosacae) and Paraponera clavata (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) colonies. Biotropica. 17:253-255.

Breed, M.D., Bennett, B. 1985. Mass recruitment to nectar sources in Paraponera clavata: A field study. Insectes Sociaux 33:198-208.

Breed, M.D., Fewell, J.H., Moore, A.J., Williams, K. 1987. Modulated recruitment in a ponerine ant. Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 20:407-411.

Harrison, J., Breed, M.D. 1987. Temporal learning in a ponerine ant. Physiol. Entomol. 12:317-320.

Breed, M.D., Harrison, J. 1988. Individually discriminable trails in a ponerine ant. Insectes Sociaux. 34:222-226.

Breed, M.D., Harrison, J. 1988. Caste in the giant tropical ant, Paraponera clavata. J. Kansas Entomol. Soc. 61:285-290.

Breed, M.D., Harrison, J. 1989. Arboreal nesting in the giant tropical ant, Paraponera clavata. J. Kansas Entomol. Soc. 62:133-135.

Harrison, J. F., Fewell, J. H., Stiller, T. M., Breed, M. D. 1989. Effects of experience on use of orientation cues in the giant tropical ant. Anim. Behav. 37:869-871.

Breed, M. D., Abel, P., Bleuze, T. J., Denton, S. E. 1990. Thievery, home ranges, and nestmate recognition in Ectatomma ruidum. Oecologia 84:117-121.

Breed, M. D., Stiller, T. M., Fewell, J. F., Harrison, J. M. 1991. Territoriality and nestmate discrimination in the giant tropical ant. Biotropica 23:301-306.

Breed, M. D., Snyder, L. E., Lynn, T. L., Morhart, J. A. 1992. Acquired chemical camouflage in a tropical ant. Anim. Behav. 44:519-523.

Fewell, J. H., Harrison, J. F., Stiller, T. M., Breed, M. D. 1992. A cost benefit analysis of distance effects on foraging and recruitment in the giant tropical ant, Paraponera clavata. Oecologia. 92:542-547.

Fewell, J. H., Harrison, J. F., Lighton, J. R. B., Breed, M. D. 1996. Foraging energetics in of the ant, Paraponera clavata. Oecologia 105:419:***.

Breed, M. D., Bowden, R. M., Garry, M. F., Weicker, A. 1996. Search Time Variation in Response to Differences in Nectar Quantity and Quality in the Giant Tropical Ant, Paraponera clavata. Journal of Insect Behavior in press.

Breed, M. D., Stierstorfer, C., Furness, E., Jeral, J, Fewell, J. 1996. Interindividual Constancy of Localized Search in the Giant Tropical Ant, Paraponera clavata. Journal of Insect Behavior in press.