lives hidden in Eciton colonies, often mimicking the ants or their larvae. Many species of birds — mostly cuckoos, woodcreepers, tanagers, and antbirds — feed near the swarms. About 50 of the approximately 200 species of antbirds specialize in preying on insects fleeing the ants, getting up to half their food this way. Some of these birds actively check army-ant bivouacs each morning and follow the foraging trail to the swarm front, where they take positions based on their species' relations in a dominance hierarchy. A swarm may be attended by as many as 25 birds of one or two "professional" species and individual birds of as many as 30 other species. There are even butterflies (esp. the family Hesperiidae) that feed almost exclusively on the feces of these bird species. Parasites The mite Trichocylliba crinita (Elzinga & Rettenmeyer, 1975) (Mesostigmata: Uropodidae) was found on the jaws of the species Eciton dulcium, and nowhere else. Species Eciton burchellii (Westwood, 1842) Eciton drepanophorum Smith, 1858 Eciton dulcium Forel, 1912 Eciton hamatum (Fabricius, 1782) Eciton jansoni Forel, 1912 Eciton lucanoides Emery, 1894 Eciton mexicanum Roger, 1863 Eciton quadriglume (Haliday, 1836) Eciton rapax Smith, 1855 Eciton setigaster Borgmeier, 1953 Eciton uncinatum Borgmeier, 1953 Eciton vagans (Olivier, 1792) References External links Tree of Life - Eciton Discover Life - Formicidae: Eciton Eciton of Costa Rica Dorylinae Ant genera Hymenoptera of South America Hymenoptera of North America