Plectroctena minor

Plectroctena minor is a semi-specialist predator on millipedes. Workers will always select millipedes, their essential prey, while alternative prey acceptance varies according to the taxa and the situation (Schatz et al., 2001).

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Afrotropical Region: Angola, Cameroun, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Togo.

Biology
Schatz et al (2001): Prey selection by Plectroctena minor workers is two-fold. During cafeteria experiments, the workers always selected millipedes, their essential prey, while alternative prey acceptance varied according to the taxa and the situation. Millipedes were seized by the anterior part of their body, stung, and retrieved by single workers that transported them between their legs. They were rarely snapped at, and never abandoned. When P. minor workers were confronted with alternative prey they behaved like generalist species: prey acceptance was inversely correlated to prey size. This was not the case vis-à-vis millipedes that they selected and captured although larger than compared alternative prey. The semi-specialised diet of P. minor permits the colonies to be easily provisioned by a few foraging workers as millipedes are rarely hunted by other predatory arthropods, while alternative prey abound, resulting in low competition pressure in both cases. Different traits characteristic of an adaptation to hunting millipedes were noted and compared with the capture of alternative prey. We also noted the parsimony of the behavioural phases during their capture compared to the capture of alternative prey.

Nomenclature

 *  minor. Plectroctena minor Emery, 1892d: 556, pl. 15, figs. 1, 2 (q.) IVORY COAST. Emery, 1902c: 32 (w.); Wheeler, W.M. 1922a: 88 (m.). Senior synonym of insularis, liberiana, perusta: Bolton, 1974c: 324; of gabonensis: Bolton & Brown, 2002: 12.
 * gabonensis. Plectroctena gabonensis Santschi, 1919a: 336 (w.) GABON. [Also described as new by Santschi, 1919h: 90.] Bolton, 1974c: 323 (q.). Combination in Myopias: Wheeler, W.M. 1922a: 785; in Plectroctena: Santschi, 1924a: 170. Subspecies of subterranea: Santschi, 1919h: 90. Revived status as species: Santschi, 1924a: 170; Bolton, 1974c: 323. Junior synonym of minor: Bolton & Brown, 2002: 12.
 * insularis. Plectroctena minor var. insularis Santschi, 1924a: 169, fig. 3 (w.) EQUATORIAL GUINEA (Bioko I.). Junior synonym of minor: Bolton, 1974c: 324.
 * liberiana. Plectroctena minor var. liberiana Santschi, 1924a: 169, fig. 2 (w.) LIBERIA. Junior synonym of minor: Bolton, 1974c: 324.
 * perusta. Plectroctena minor var. perusta Santschi, 1924a: 168, fig. 2 (w.) CAMEROUN. Junior synonym of minor: Bolton, 1974c: 324.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Bolton B. 1974. A revision of the ponerine ant genus Plectroctena F. Smith (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Bull. Br. Mus. (Nat. Hist.) Entomol. 30: 309-338.
 * Bolton B., and W. L. Brown Jr. 2002. Loboponera gen. n. and a review of the Afrotropical Plectroctena genus group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Bulletin of the Natural History Museum. Entomology Series 71: 1-18.
 * Eidmann H. 1944. Die Ameisenfauna von Fernando Poo. 27. Beitrag zu den Ergebnissen der Westafrika-Expedition. Zool. Jahrb. Abt. Syst. Ökol. Geogr. Tiere 76: 413-490.
 * Emery C. 1892. Voyage de M. Ch. Alluaud dans le territoire d'Assinie (Afrique occidentale) en juillet et août 1886. Formicides. Annales de la Société Entomologique de France 60: 553-574.
 * Emery C. 1902. Note mirmecologiche. Rendiconti delle Sessioni della Reale Accademia delle Scienze dell'Istituto di Bologna (n.s.)6: 22-34.
 * Emery C. 1911. Hymenoptera. Fam. Formicidae. Subfam. Ponerinae. Genera Insectorum 118: 1-125.
 * Levieux J., and T. Diomande. 1985. Evolution des peuplements de fourmis terricoles selon l'age de la végétation dans une foret de Cote d'Ivoire intacte ou soumise à l'action humaine. Insectes Sociaux 32(2): 128-139.
 * Lévieux J. 1972. Les fourmis de la savane de Lamto (Côte d'Ivoire): éléments de taxonomie. Bulletin de l'Institut Fondamental d'Afrique Noire. Série A. Sciences Naturelles 34: 611-654.
 * Medler J. T. 1980: Insects of Nigeria - Check list and bibliography. Mem. Amer. Ent. Inst. 30: i-vii, 1-919.
 * Menozzi C. 1942. Formiche dell'isola Fernando Poo e del territorio del Rio Muni (Guinea Spagnola). 24. Beitrag zu den wissenschaftlichen Ergebnissen der Forschungsreise H. Eidmann nach Spanisch-Guinea 1939 bis 1940. Zoologischer Anzeiger 140: 164-182.
 * Santschi F. 1914. Formicides de l'Afrique occidentale et australe du voyage de Mr. le Professeur F. Silvestri. Bollettino del Laboratorio di Zoologia Generale e Agraria della Reale Scuola Superiore d'Agricoltura. Portici 8: 309-385.
 * Santschi F. 1919. Cinq notes myrmécologiques. Bulletin de la Société Vaudoise des Sciences Naturelles 52: 325-350.
 * Santschi F. 1919. Nouvelles fourmis du Congo Belge du Musée du Congo Belge, à Tervueren. Revue Zoologique Africaine (Brussels) 7: 79-91.
 * Santschi F. 1924. Revue du genre Plectroctena F. Smith. Revue Suisse de Zoologie 31: 155-173.
 * Wheeler W. M. 1922. Ants of the American Museum Congo expedition. A contribution to the myrmecology of Africa. II. The ants collected by the American Museum Congo Expedition. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 45: 39-269.
 * Wheeler W. M. 1922. Ants of the American Museum Congo expedition. A contribution to the myrmecology of Africa. VIII. A synonymic list of the ants of the Ethiopian region. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 45: 711-1004
 * Yeo K., S. Konate, S. Tiho, and S. K. Camara. 2011. Impacts of land use types on ant communities in a tropical forest margin (Oumé - Cote d'Ivoire). African Journal of Agricultural Research 6(2): 260-274.