Weaver ant

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Oecophylla
Temporal range: 47–0 Ma Eocene - Recent
Nest construction by O. smaragdina major workers (Thailand)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
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Tribe:
Oecophyllini
Genus:
Oecophylla

Smith, 1860
Species

Oecophylla atavina
Oecophylla bartoniana
Oecophylla brischkei
Oecophylla crassinoda
Oecophylla eckfeldiana
Oecophylla grandimandibula
Oecophylla leakeyi
Oecophylla longinoda
Oecophylla longiceps
Oecophylla megarche
Oecophylla obesa
Oecophylla perdita
Oecophylla praeclara
Oecophylla sicula
Oecophylla smaragdina
Oecophylla superba
Oecophylla xiejiaheensis

Diversity
2 species
Map showing range of Oecophylla
Oecophylla range map.
Oecophylla longinoda in blue, Oecophylla smaragdina in red.[1]

Weaver ants (also known as tailor ants or green ants; genus Oecophylla) are eusocial insects of the Formicidae family. They make their nests from living leaves, still attached to the tree. Instead of needles and thread, they use a rare type of silk, made in the mouths of their own grubs.[2] The grubs are passed to and from between the leaves, to sew them together. Tailor ants may be found in the rainforest of Asia.[3]

Colonies of weaver ants can be very large, containing more than half a million workers. The colonies can be made up of more than a hundred nests across several trees.

References[change | change source]

  1. Dlussky, Gennady M.; Wappler, Torsten; Wedmann, Sonja (2008). "New middle Eocene formicid species from Germany and the evolution of weaver ants" (PDF). Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 53 (4): 615–626. doi:10.4202/app.2008.0406. S2CID 54222911.[permanent dead link]
  2. Hölldober, B. & Wilson, E.O. 1990. The ants. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
  3. Ganeri, Anita (2000). Jungle Animals Over 100 Questions and Answers to Things You Want to Know. Dubai, U.A.E. ISBN 0-75254-909-X.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

Other websites[change | change source]

Media related to Oecophylla at Wikimedia Commons