A colony of the tiny ant Cardiocondyla minutior showed up near a colony of Pheidole that I had been photographing.
Over the course of days and weeks, the Pheidole colony, which had been fairly constant when it came to showing up at baits, started to disappear. The few foragers still around discovered the baits, but recruitment was lackadaisical at best, and the baits were usually abandoned.
When foragers of both species met, the Cardiocondyla minutior always run away, at times being chased by the Pheidole minor worker, so I was prepared to assume that the dead bodies of the Pheidole were simply being scavenged by the darker ants.
However, I soon discovered piles of dead Pheidole that were maintained by C. minutior. The dead included winged reproductives, and many of the carcasses showed signs of dismemberment and other injuries.
C. minutior is an exotic that has not been observed to be very aggressive, although it usually can survive even in the midst of much more aggressive species. Observers have surmised that this was due to chemical defenses. The discovery of these piles of dead ants and the weakening and disappearance of the Pheidole colony perhaps points to a more aggressive behavior in this species.
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