OECOPHYLLA LONGINODA , AN ANT PREDATOR 
OF ANOMMA DRIVER ANTS 
(HYMENOPTERA: FORMICIDAE) * 
By William H. Gotwald, Jr. 
Department of Biology, Utica College of Syracuse University 
Utica, New York, 13502 
Ants of the subgenus Anomma, one of 6 subgenera composing the 
genus DoryluSj are commonly referred to as “driver ants.” The 
driver ant receives its name apparently because it “drives everything 
before it capable of muscular movement, so formidable is it from its 
numbers and bite . . .” (Savage, 1847). Of the Dorylus subgenera, 
Anomma is most conspicuous. Its species are aggressive, primarily 
epigaeic foragers (i.e. surface adapted as opposed to subterranean) 
with colonies consisting of up to 22 million individuals (Raignier 
and van Boven, 1955). Although the ferocity of the Anomma 
driver ants has been fictionalized and tales of their behavior are in- 
corporated into African folklore, their pugnacity has been repeatedly 
documented (Loveridge, 1922; Raignier and van Boven, 1955; 
Savage, 1847, 1849; Wheeler 1910, 1922). The driver ants have 
also been described as clearly dominant animals (Weber, 1943). 
Without a doubt, they appear as efficient predators, having evolved 
a system of group predation of significant adaptive advantage in trop- 
ical environments. 
However, these carnivores are themselves not without predators. 
Bequaert (1922) reports Anomma species from the stomachs of 4 
species of African toads (genus Bufo) and 3 species of African frogs 
(in the genera Rana , Kassina f Hemisus). He also reports that 
driver ants are commonly eaten by African skinks of the genus 
Mabuya and by pangolins (scaly anteaters) of the genus Manis. 
Chapin (1932) indicates that driver ants are eaten by several species 
of African birds, including the Guinea fowl, Phasidus niger Cassin. 
My own observations in Ghana place the domestic chicken among 
Anomma predators, for driver ants frequently forage in village refuse 
heaps where chickens are also regular visitors. These chickens walk 
along the columns and clusters of worker ants, picking up and swal- 
lowing individual workers while carefully avoiding any other con- 
tact with the ants. Insects and other arthropods have not been ob- 
served as important Anomma predators. While flies of the genera 
* Manuscript received by the editor October 24, 1972 
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