Aspects of predatory behavior and food preferences of three species of driver ants, Dorylus (Anomma) gerstaeckeri Emery, D. (A.) nigricans Illiger, and D. (A.) nigricans var. molesta (Gerstaecker), in selected African habitats are analyzed. Driver ants prey primarily on insects, arachnids, and earthworms. Diet composition is determined primarily by habitat and prey availability and only secondarily by prey characteristics. Less mobile prey such as immature forms, particularly of holometabola, are more vulnerable to attack than are adults. Their prey are usually sectioned into transportable pieces (designated prey units in this study for purposes of analysis). Prey unit size is correlated with prey-retrieval ability of the species (as determined by size and behavior). Workers exhibit a prey-retrieval division of labor in which large workers carry prey units and smaller workers retrieve prey liquids or carry no prey at all.
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William H. Gotwald (1974) studied this question.