Asian Weaver Ant
Oecophylla smaragdina
Weaver ants are used as a natural pest control in orchards, a practice dating back to 304 AD in China, making it one of the oldest known examples of biological control.
- Scientific name
- Oecophylla smaragdina
- Taxonomy
- Animalia › Arthropoda › Insecta › Hymenoptera › Formicidae › Oecophylla
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- forest
- Habitat
- Tropical forests, mangroves, and fruit orchards.
- Diet
- Generalist predators of small insects; also consume nectar and honeydew from scale insects.
- Range
- South Asia, Southeast Asia, Northern Australia, Melanesia
- Size
- Workers range from 5mm to 10mm.
- Lifespan
- Workers live 3-6 months; queens can live for several years.
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Deforestation and intensive use of broad-spectrum pesticides in agricultural areas.
- Safe to approach?
- Defensive. These ants are highly territorial and will swarm and bite if their host tree or nest is disturbed. They do not sting, but their bite is sharp and they may spray formic acid into the wound, causing a burning sensation. Maintain a safe distance from hanging leaf nests. If bitten, brush ants off immediately and wash the area with soap and water.
Oecophylla smaragdina (common names include weaver ant , green ant , green tree ant , and orange gaster ) is a species of arboreal ant found in tropical Asia and Australia. These ants form colonies with multiple nests in trees, each nest being made of leaves stitched together using the silk produced by the ant larvae.
Photo: Geoff Shuetrim, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
Plain-text version: /species/956b8c04-a101-4558-876c-8eda77d9cf82.md