weaver ants (& scale insects)

Description:

Weaver ants "tending" scale insects (visible in photos 1 & 2). "Weaver ants can also have an adverse effect on tree productivity by protecting sap feeding insects such as scale insects and leafhoppers from which they collect honeydew. By protecting these insects from predators they increase their population and increase the damage they cause to trees."

Habitat:

This spotting occurred on cashew "apples" (cashew tree = Anacardium occidentale) on the campus of a school which is nestled in the foothills of the Cyclops mountains. The campus is surrounded by villages, gardens and disturbed forest.

Notes:

See a colony on the move here http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/702... See ants tending other scale insects here http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/793... See an ant colony nest here http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/891... See another reference link here http://www.newguineants.org/ants/categor...