Abstract
In this review of cleptobiosis, we not only focus on social insects, but also consider broader issues and concepts relating to the theft of food among animals. Cleptobiosis occurs when members of a species steal food, or sometimes nesting materials or other items of value, either from members of the same or a different species. This simple definition is not universally used, and there is some terminological confusion among cleptobiosis, cleptoparasitism, brood parasitism, and inquilinism. We first discuss the definitions of these terms and the confusion that arises from varying usage of the words. We consider that cleptobiosis usually is derived evolutionarily from established foraging behaviors. Cleptobionts can succeed by deception or by force, and we review the literature on cleptobiosis by deception or force in social insects. We focus on the best known examples of cleptobiosis, the ectatommine antEctatomma ruidum, the harvester antMessor capitatus, and the stingless beeLestrimellita limão.Cleptobiosis is facilitated either by deception or physical force, and we discuss both mechanisms. Part of this discussion is an analysis of the ecological implications (competition by interference) and the evolutionary effects of cleptobiosis. We conclude with a comment on how cleptobiosis can increase the risk of disease or parasite spread among colonies of social insects.
Highlights
Foraging is often time consuming, risky and may not result in the discovery of food or other resources
Many social insects act as thieves, and the focus of this paper is food theft that in some way involves a social insect species, but we consider theft of other items, such as nesting material
Social insects can be victimized by commensals that are able to plug into social feeding mechanisms that normally direct food among colony members
Summary
Foraging is often time consuming, risky and may not result in the discovery of food or other resources. A commonly observed alternative to searching for resources that may be dispersed in the environment is to take, either by force or deception, the resource from another animal This theft of food or other resources from foragers or from larder caches is common enough to merit considerable interest in behavioral ecology. Social insects can be victimized by commensals that are able to plug into social feeding mechanisms that normally direct food among colony members. From this point forward, we use the term cleptobiosis to describe food theft, or theft of other items of value such as nesting material, by one animal from another. While the subject of this paper is cleptobiotic relationships involving social insects, the evolutionary principles apply broadly across many types of animals
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