Abstract
This paper is the first of a series on the behaviour of Eciton burchelli Westwood. Some observations on Eciton hamatum Fabricius are added. The study took 2 years and was carried out in a forest reserve at the Instituto de Pesquisa e Experimentação Agropecuárias dp Norte (IPEAN), Belém, State of Pará, Brazil. All the movements of E. burchelli and E. hamatum colonies were mapped. Colonies were observed in different seasons and in different types of forest. For six E. burchelli colonies 34 Nomadic-Statary cycle (NSC) durations were recorded giving the lengths of the Nomadic Phase (NP) and Statary Phase (SP). Five NSC, NP and SP durations of one E. hamatum colony were recorded. The data confirm the existence of endogenous cycles of activity in these ants and suggest that they have a basically uniform periodicity over a very wide area (Panama to Belém).
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