Cannibalism in the red wood ant, Formica polyctena (Hymenoptera: formicidae).

(1) Wars between colonies of the red wood ant, Formica polyctena (Foerst.), are very common in the study area, a dune valley near The Hague, The Netherlands. In an extensive study Mabelis (1979) has put forward a hypothesis that explains the occurrence of wars in terms of protein supply in periods of insufficient prey availability.