Abstract:
Pachycondyla analis Latreille (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) is a common African Ponerine ant
that organizes group raids on termites considered a huge burden to agriculture. This ant
has been the subject of various entomological and natural history studies aimed at understanding
their group raiding behaviour and impact on the ecosystem as well as the roles they
play in regulating field termite populations. However, colony maintenance under laboratory
conditions for long-termresearch purposes has largely been unsuccessful. Herein,wereport
an effective method for maintaining P. analis in the laboratory for long-termstudies that may
include behavioural, life history and chemical ecology. Using a simple set-up made up of a
Perspex foraging arena and an aluminum nest box in the laboratory, queen right colonies
were successfully maintained for an average of 27.0±6.0 weeks and a maximum of 34 weeks
before declining. High ant mortality (6–48 %) was observed in the first week of captivity in
the laboratory. This declined to a weekly mortality of 4.0 ± 3.6%(24 ± 22.5 ants per colony)
after the ants had settled in their new laboratory nest. Therefore, using our laboratory rearing
set-up, and keeping laboratory conditions similar to those in the field, as well as feeding
P. analis on its usual diet of termites, could increase colony survival time up to 4.5 times
longer than previously reported rearing protocols.
