Predation behaviour of Myopopone castaneae SMITH ants against some insect larvae in the laboratory

Myopopone castaneae ants are known to be predators of the larvae of Oryctes rhinoceros. These ants attack their prey alive by biting and stinging them to death before the hemolymph fluid is consumed. Despite the minimal information available, these ants have the potential to prey on 2.8 - 3 larvae for a period of 5 days. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to evaluate the predation behavior of M. castaneae ants against several types of insect larvae in the laboratory. This investigation was performed at the pest laboratory, Faculty of Agriculture, North Sumatra University from May to July 2020. The results showed the fastest prey time of 2-3 days on 3 Omphisa fuscidentalis larvae, while the longest was observed against Rhynchophorus ferrugineus species, at 3 larvae for 6-7 days. In addition, the typical predation behavior and symptoms include the presence of scars and gradual blackening on the cuticles. Moreover, ants tend to carry their offspring to the dead larvae of O. rhinoceros and R. ferrugineus, while O. fuscidentalis is conveyed to the nest for consumption by the colony.