ABSTRACT
Ants are among the most abundant animals in most terrestrial habitats and may be the dominant insects in many ecosystems (MacKay 1981, 1989). It is not only their dominance in numbers and biomass that make these insects important in ecosystems, but also their activity. Ants can concentrate more energy at critical points than can single competitors; they use sheer numbers to construct nests in suboptimal habitats as well as defend young and retrieve food efficiently (Wilson 1985).
