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kleptoparasitism on carpenter 1989; S CiBERRAS unpublished data). inter- (Camponotus spp.) by Podarcis estingly, ants were also observed carrying items on their trail with lizards attending, tiliguerta (gMEliN , 1789) in Corsica but not attacking, the colony. This could and Podarcis filfolensis (BEDRiAgA , possibly be because the activity was assem - 1876) on the Maltese islands bled outside of P. filfolensis territory. kleptoparasitism (parasitism by theft) in June 2009, a foraging trail of the is a form of feeding in which one carpenter was ob- takes prey or other food from another that served in a pine forest area near Calacuccia, has caught, collected, or otherwise prepared central north Corsica. The weather was the food, including stored food. The behav - bright and sunny at approximately 18 °C. ior, may it be intra- or interspecific, is pres - Podarcis tiliguerta (gMEliN , 1789) were ent in a number of ; mostly, , active. As the ants collected a number of birds and humans ( COyl et al. 1991; JORDE dead and live invertebrates and plant parti - & l iNglE 1998; S iviNSki et al. 1999; cles, an adult P. tiliguerta was observed SHEAlER et al. 2005; SCHOE et al. 2009). it approaching the ant trail. For approximate - is rarely seen in wild lizards but has been ly two minutes the lizard watched and reported for another Mediterranean island moved up and down the ant trail at a dis - lacertid, Podarcis lilfordi (güNTHER , 1874) tance of about one meter. The lizard then (COOPER & P éREZ -M EllADO 2003). spotted three ants dragging a cricket. The kleptoparasitism on ants is more rare - lizard approached the trail and swiftly ly observed in temperate and mediterranean grabbed the orthopteran, shaking it and hit - ecosystems, in part due to lower densities of ting it on the ground, subsequently remov - ants and generally smaller sized ant prey, ing two of the ants; it then retreated fast into which would reduce the energetic benefit nearby vegetation and was observed to con - gained by the parasite. kleptopararistic be- sume the . havior on ants is more common in the trop - kleptoparasitic behavior was also ob - ics where swarms of army ants ( Eciton bur - served by the authors in P. filfolensis (BED - chellii in the Neotropics and Dorylus RiAgA , 1876) in a Maltese island. in August molestus in ˗ SCHöNiNg et al. 2006), 2006 on the unpopulated Cominotto island, generate numerous examples of kleptopara - a female P. filfolensis was observed feeding sitism due to their considerable biomass and on a trail of Camponotus barbaricus ants. predictable behavior. kleptoparasites of Ants comprise approximately 16 % of the these examples include specialized guilds of lizard’s diet on this island during summer birds (e.g., BROCkMANN & B ARNARD 1979) (SCiBERRAS unpublished data). A trail of C. that follow ant swarms and glean inverte - barbaricus just 2.5 m ahead of the afore - brates, lizards or snakes that try and escape mentioned P. filfolensis carried a dead them. Sphingonotus coerulans locust. The lizard That this behavior has been observed stopped feeding on the ants and collected the in two mediterranean of Podarcis , dead S. coerulans , rushing under the closest independently parasitizing on species of thicket of Thymbra capitata and then rested Camponotus ant, suggests there is benefit to in the shade to consume the prey. On a sec - kleptoparasitism on Camponotus spp. in ond occasion, a population of C. barbaricus Mediterranean ecosystems. The benefits of disturbed by human trampling were relocat - this example of kleptoparasitism may partly ing their eggs, food seeds of Ferula commu - be derived from the large size of the ant nis , and undetermined seeds from one loca - (workers of C. vagus are typically 6-12 mm, tion toward a small rubble wall. Several whilst those of C. barbaricus are typically specimens of P. filfolensis were observed 10-15 mm) which attract predators such as robbing eggs and shaking off the ants. Podarcis , initially to feed directly on them, During mating season, this lacertid but also to indulge in opportunistic klep - generally attends strict territorial boundaries toparasitism on larger insect prey caught by and rarely forages outside of them. Terri- the ants. BROCkMANN & B ARNARD (1979) tories vary from 1.2 m 2 to 2.7 m 2 (BORg suggest that occurrences of kleptoparasitism All_Short_Notes_159-208_SHORT_NOTE.qxd 21.01.2015 13:44 Seite 18

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are more frequent during situations of food (2009): Humans displacing lions and stealing their shortage as can seasonally occur on Medi - food in Bénoué National Park, North Cameroon.- African Journal of Ecology, Oxford; 47: 445-447. terranean islands. As species of Campono - SCHöNiNg, C. & kiNuTHiA, W. & BOOMSMA, J. J. tus are global in their distribution (yAMA- (2006): Does the afrotropical army ant Dorylus MOTO & DEl-ClARO 2008), it is possible (Anomma) molestus go extinct in fragmented forests?- that incidences of kleptoparasitism by other Journal of East African Natural History, Nairobi; 95: 163-179. SHEAlER, D. A. & SPENDElOW, J. A. & HAT - species of lizard are currently unrecorded. FiElD, J. & NiSBET, i. (2005): The adaptive significance The benefits and costs that determine of stealing in a marine bird and its relationship to the profitability of food stealing by lizards parental quality.- Behavioral Ecology, Oxford; 16: 371- likely depend on intrinsic characteristics of 376. SiviNSki, J. & MARSHAll, S. & PETERSSON, E. (1999): kleptoparasitism and phoresy in the Diptera.- individuals that facilitate or constrain klep- Florida Entomologist, gainesville; 82: 2. yAMAMOTO, toparasitic behavior. it has been hypothe- M. & DEl-ClARO, k. (2008): Natural history and for- sized that kleptoparasitism should be more aging behavior of the Camponotus seri- profitable, and hence have more often ceiventris guéRiN, 1838 (Formicinae, Campotonini) in the Brazilian tropical savanna.- Acta Ethologica, evolved, in taxonomic lineages featuring Berlin, Heidelberg; 11: 55-65. certain characteristics, such as a large body kEy WORDS: Reptilia: Squamata: lacertidae: mass, an enlarged brain or a dependence on Podarcis tiliguerta, Podarcis filfolensis, Camponotus certain prey types. Alternatively, the evolu- spp., diet, behavior, ecology, foraging, kleptoparasitism tion of kleptoparasitism in lizards could on ants, Corsica, , Maltese islands, Malta have been facilitated in certain ecological SuBMiTTED: November 22, 2013 contexts, such as open or mixed- AuTHORS: Todd R. lEWiS (Corresponding iRAlDEAu species foraging groups (g & author < [email protected] >) 1), Alex RAMSAy 2), CARACO 2000; COOPER & PéREZ-MEllADO Arnold SCiBERRAS 3) and Colin BAilEy 4) 2003) or by the predictability of ant species 1) Westfield, 4 Worgret Road, Wareham, Dorset, on which the behavior will yield a high food BH20 4PJ, uk 2) Calls Wharf, 2 The Calls, leeds, lS2 7Ju, uk return for low effort. 3) 133 Arnest, Arcade Str., Paola, Malta From the observations above, it is evi- 4) Truffles, Piggery Hall lane, West Wittering, dent that both P. filfolensis and P. tiliguerta Chichester, West Sussex, PO20 8PZ, uk are interspecific kleptoparasites of Campo - notus spp. ants. ACkNOWlEDgMENTS: The authors thank Anne lEONARD, Colin RyAll, Tim JENkiNS and Pete RENDAll of the registered charity Operation New World < www.opnewworld.co.uk > for support and the oppor- tunity to study the ecology of Corsica’s herpetofauna. Jeffrey SCiBERRAS and Esther SCiBERRAS are acknowl- edged for their continuous assistance with the field work on the Maltese islands. Jordan WAgEN kNECHT is thanked for identification of Camponotus vagus from Corsica. REFERENCES: BROCkMANN, H. J. & BARN- ARD, C. J. (1979): kleptoparasitism in birds.- Animal Behaviour, Amsterdam; 27: 487-514. BORg, M. J. (1989): Aspects of the biology of Podarcis filfolensis. unpublished B. Ed. dissertation, Faculty of Education, university of Malta, Malta; pp. viii, 130. COOPER, W. E. Jr. & PéREZ-MEllADO, v. E. (2003): kleptopara - sitism in the Balearic lizard, Podarcis lilfordi.- Am - phibia-Reptilia, leiden; 24: 219-224. COyl, F. A. & O’SHiElDS, T. C. & PERlMuTTER, D. g. (1991): Observ - ations on the behaviour of the kleptoparasitic spider, Mysmenopsis furtiva (Araneae, Mysmenidae).- Journal of Arachnology, South El Monte; 19: 62-66. giRAl- DEAu, l.-A. & CARACO, T. (2000): Social Foraging Theory. Princeton (Princeton university Press), pp. 380. JORDE, D. g. & liNglE, g. (1998): kleptoparasitism by bald eagles wintering in South-Central Nebraska.- Journal of Field Ornithology, Milton, etc.;. 59: 183- 188. SCHOE, M. & DE iONgH, H. & CROES, B. M.