Weaver ant - Wikipedia. For the Australian green- head ant, see Green- head ant. Weaver ants or green ants (genus. Oecophylla) are eusocialinsects of the family Formicidae (order Hymenoptera). Weaver ants are obligately arboreal and are known for their unique nest building behaviour where workers construct nests by weaving together leaves using larval silk. Like many other ant species, weaver ants prey on small insects and supplement their diet with carbohydrate- rich honeydew excreted by small insects (Hemiptera). Oecophylla workers exhibit a clear bimodal size distribution, with almost no overlap between the size of the minor and major workers. There is a division of labour associated with the size difference between workers. Major workers forage, defend, maintain, and expand the colony whereas minor workers tend to stay within the nests where they care for the brood and 'milk' scale insects in or close to the nests. Oecophylla weaver ants vary in color from reddish to yellowish brown dependent on the species. Oecophylla smaragdina found in Australia often have bright green gasters. These ants are highly territorial and workers aggressively defend their territories against intruders. Because of their aggressive behaviour, weaver ants are sometime used by indigenous farmers, particularly in southeast Asia, as natural biocontrol agents against agricultural pests. Although Oecophylla weaver ants lack a functional sting they can inflict painful bites and often spray formic acid. The weaver ant genus Oecophylla is relatively old, and 1. Eocene to Miocene deposits. Males have vestigial pretarsal claws. The workers then construct leaf nests and help rear new brood laid by the queen. As the number of workers increases, more nests are constructed and colony productivity and growth increase significantly. Workers perform tasks that are essential to colony survival, including foraging, nest construction, and colony defense. The exchange of information and modulation of worker behaviour that occur during worker- worker interactions are facilitated by the use of chemical and tactile communication signals. These signals are used primarily in the contexts of foraging and colony defense. Successful foragers lay down pheromone trails that help recruit other workers to new food sources. Pheromone trails are also used by patrollers to recruit workers against territorial intruders. Along with chemical signals, workers also use tactile communication signals such as attenation and body shaking to stimulate activity in signal recipients. Weaving in My Mango Tree by Radha HS When I was growing up in India, there was a mango tree in our yard. I spent many hours under. Multimodal communication in Oecophylla weaver ants importantly contributes to colony self- organization. Possibly the first description of weaver ant's nest building behaviour was made by the English naturalist Joseph Banks, who took part in Captain James Cook's voyage to Australia in 1. An excerpt from Joseph Banks' Journal (cited in H. In doing this their management was most curious: they bend down four leaves broader than a man's hand, and place them in such a direction as they choose. This requires a much larger force than these animals seem capable of; many thousands indeed are employed in the joint work. I have seen as many as could stand by one another, holding down such a leaf, each drawing down with all his might, while others within were employed to fasten the glue. How they had bent it down I had not the opportunity of seeing, but it was held down by main strength, I easily proved by disturbing a part of them, on which the leaf bursting from the rest, returned to its natural situation, and I had an opportunity of trying with my finger the strength of these little animals must have used to get it down. The first phase in nest construction involves workers surveying potential nesting leaves by pulling on the edges with their mandibles. When a few ants have successfully bent a leaf onto itself or drawn its edge toward another, other workers nearby join the effort. The probability of a worker joining the concerted effort is dependent on the size of the group, with workers showing a higher probability of joining when group size is large. Multiple intricate chains working in unison are often used to ratchet together large leaves during nest construction. Once the edges of the leaves are drawn together, other workers retrieve larvae from existing nests using their mandibles. Upon reaching a seam to be joined, these workers tap the head of the clutched larvae, which causes them to excrete silk. They can only produce so much silk, so the larva will have to pupate without a cocoon. The workers then maneuver between the leaves in a highly coordinated fashion to bind them together. The time required to construct a nest varies depending on leaf type and eventual size, but often a large nest can be built in significantly less than 2. Although weaver ant's nests are strong and impermeable to water, new nests are continually being built by workers in large colonies to replace old dying nests and those damaged by storms. Insects are not only consumed by workers, but this protein source is necessary for brood development. Because weaver ant workers hunt and kill insects that are potentially harmful plant pests, trees harboring weaver ants benefit from having decreased levels of herbivory. Studies indicate that the presence of Oecophylla colonies may also have negative effects on the performance of host plants by reducing fruit removal by mammals and birds and therefore reducing seed dispersal and by lowering the flower- visiting rate of flying insects including pollinators. In addition to being used as a biological control agent to increase plant production, weaver ants can be utilized directly as a protein and food source since the ants (especially the ant larvae) are edible for humans and high in protein and fatty acids. Retrieved 3. 0 January 2. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.^Weber, NA (1. Ants at a Picnic - Weaving, Collage DrawingNest-weaving ants 165 the presence of silk in Polyrhachis nests has typically been interpreted as evidence for nest-weaving (workers holding silk-producing larvae at the work site), it now appears that the presence of silk in. Evolutionary transitions of complex labile traits: Silk weaving and arboreal nesting in Polyrhachis ants. Enter inside the fascinating and unique world of weaver ants, exploring one of the most complex social systems of all forms of life. Weaving Ants was filmed on location in the Ivory Coast, using macrophotography and special. Annals of the Entomological Society of America. Howse (1. 97. 9) Chemical composition of the poison apparatus secretions of the African weaver ant, Oecophylla longinoda, and their role in behaviour. Physiological Entomology 4(1), 3. Volatile constituents of the green ant Oecophylla smaragdina. Chem., 5. 4 (1. 2), 3. Molecular phylogeny among local populations of weaver ant Oecophylla smaragdina. Zoological Science 1. Bolton, B. Synopsis and Classification of Formicidae. Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute, Vol. Gainesville, FL.^Crozier, R. H.; Newey, P. S.; E. A., Schl. Australian Journal of Zoology. Australian Journal of Entomology 3. Multimodal signals in ant communication. J Comp Physiol A 1. H. Territorial behavior in the green tree ant (Oecophylla smaragdina). Biotropica 1. 5: 2. Deneubourg, J. L., Lioni, A. Dynamics of aggregation and emergence of cooperation. Biological Bulletin 2. Offenberg J. The use of artificial nests by weaver ants: A preliminary field observation. Asian Myrmecology 6: 1. Acta Entomologica Sinica. Agriculture and Human Values. Agricultural and Forest Entomology. International Journal of Pest Management. International Journal of Pest Management. International Journal of Pest Management. Journal of Applied Ecology. Fiedler, K., 2. 00. Interactions between weaver ants Oecophylla smaragdina, homopterans, trees and lianas in an Australian rain forest canopy. Journal of Animal Ecology, 7. Raksakantong P, Meeso N, Kubola J and Siriamornpun S, 2. Fatty acids and proximate composition of eight Thai edible terricolous insects. Food Research International 4. Huis, Arnold et al. Edible insects: future prospects for food and feed security(PDF). FAO Forestry Paper 1. ISBN 9. 78- 9. 2- 5- 1. The importance of weaver ant (Oecophylla smaragdina Fabricius) harvest to a local community in Northeastern Thailand. Asian Myrmecology 2: 1. Oecophylla smaragdina food conversion efficiency: prospects for ant farming. Journal of Applied Entomology 1. Offenberg J and Wiwatwitaya D, 2. Sustainable weaver ant (Oecophylla smaragdina) farming: harvest yields and effects on worker ant density. Asian Myrmecology 3: 5. Harvesting and commercialisation of kroto (Oecophylla smaragdina) in the Malingpeng area, West Java, Indonesia. In: Forest products, livelihoods and conservation. Case studies of non- timber product systems (Kusters K, Belcher B, eds), Center for International Forestry Research, Bogor, 6. Rastogi N, 2. 01. Provisioning services from ants: food and pharmaceuticals. Asian Myrmecology 4: 1.
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