Ethogram Wilson 1976

A Cephalotes varians ethogram from: Wilson E.O. 1976. A social ethogram of the neotropical arboreal ant, Zacryptocerus varians (Fr. Smith). Animal Behavior. 24:354-363. DOI 10.1016/S0003-3472(76)80043-7

"Thirty eight categories of behavioural acts were recorded in the minor worker caste. When the frequency data (number of acts observed per category) were fitted to a lognormal Poisson distribution by the Fagen-Goldman method (see Fagen 1974), the total number of behavioural categories, including those still unseen, was estimated to be forty-two, with a 95 per cent confidence interval of [38, 46]."

See the species page or the publication for more information.

Behavioral Act	Minor Workers	Major Workers	Queen
	(N = 2163)	(N =61)	(N = 7)
1. Self grooming	0.2621	0.3443	0
2. Antennal tipping: tips of antennae brought together as body is held rigid	0.009	0	0
3. Allogroom minor worker	0.467	0.656	0
4. Allogroom major worker	0.0028	0	0
5. Allogroom queen	0.0023	0	0
BROOD CARE
6. Carry or manipulate egg (or eggs in succession)	0.0065	0	0
7. Lick egg (or eggs in succession)	0.0074	0	0
8. Carry or manipulate larvae (or larvae in succession)	0.0518	0.0328	0
9. Lick larvae (or larvae in succession)	0.1188	0.0328	0
10. Assist larval ecdysis	0.0005	0	0
11. Assist ecdysis to pupa	0.0032	0	0
12. Carry or manipulate pupa (or pupae in succession)	0.0055	0	0
13. Lick pupa (or pupae in succession)	0.0079	0.0328	0
14. Assist eclosion to adult	0.0009	0	0
15. Lay normal egg	0	0	0.1429
REGURGITATE
16. With larva	0.0536	0.0492	0
17. With minor worker	0.2164	0.2951	0.8571
18. With major worker	0.0083	0.0656	0
19. With queen	0.0028	0	0
ABDOMINAL TROPHALLAXIS
20. Receive or solicit from anal region of minor worker	0.0125	0	0
21. Receive or solicit from anal region of major worker	0.0032	0	0
22. Receive or solicit from anal region of queen	0.0028	0.0164	0
23. Lick wall of nest	0.006	0.0492	0
24. Forage outside nest	0.0698	0	0
25. Feed on honey outside nest	0.0411	0	0
26. Feed on solid food (trophic egg. larval skin. etc.) inside nest	0.0079	0	0
27. Feed on insect outside nest	0.0171	0	0
28. Carry dea d insect	0.0046	0	0
29. Carry dea d nestmate	0.0129	0	0
30. Carry live adult nestmate	0	0	0
31. Extrude sting and/or anal tube	0.0023	0	0
32. Lay odour trail to food	0.0023	0	0
33. 'Jittering': vibrating entire body up and down	0.0028	0.0164	0
34. Extrude infrabuccal pellet	0.0014	0	0
35. Feed infrabuccal pellet to larva	0.0018	0	0
36. Lay trophic egg	0.0023	0	0
37. Feed trophic egg to larva	0.0032	0	0
38. Feed trophic egg to minor worker	0.0005	0	0
39. Cannibalism: feeding on own larva	0.0009	0	0
40. Excavating	0.006	0	0