Food robbing is a special form of interference competition in ants. It has been frequently observed in
Myrmecocystus mimicus, which waylay returning foragers of several
Pogonomyrmex species at their nests and take insect prey, particularly termites, away from them.
Myrmecocystus more successfully robs prey from
P. desertorum and
P. maricopa than from
P. barbatus. Usually only those
Pogonomyrmex nests are affected by
Myrmecocystus prey robbing that are not farther away than 10 m from the
Myrmecocystus nest. Some
M. mimicus workers show a high specialization in prey robbing. Other cases of food robbing in ants are described.