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Oecophylla smaragdina
Green Tree Ants have a green abdomen and yellow-green thorax. They are also known as Weaver Ants as they weave leaves together to form their nest. They are aggressive ants and will inflict a painful bite and squirt formic acid from the tip of their abdomen - they do not sting, though.
Forest
Food: They forage on vegetation as well as the ground, often moving in large numbers forming distinct trails. They feed on small animals they come across often taking prey much larger than themselves. They also feed on the sugary secretions from aphids, scale insects, and the caterpillars of some butterfly species, protecting these insects from predators and parasites. Breeding: Green Tree Ants build nests by stitching living tree and shrub leaves together with silk produced by special glands in the larvae. The adult ants do not produce silk. Workers cooperate forming chains to pull the leaves together in position. Other ants bring larvae and gently squeeze them to stimulate silk production. The silk is used to bind the leaves together into the nest. The nest contains several or dozens of leaves providing a well camouflaged shelter. The nest expands as the colony grows and groups of ants leave to form nearby satellite colonies. Most colonies have more than one queen.
16 Comments
Hi! I'm a photo editor at an educational publisher - Curriculum Associates. We are creating a lesson about weaver ants and would be interested in possibly using your shot. Might you be interested? If so, could you contact me at skronzon@cainc.com. Thanks! Shira
Thanks Dilan & Arya
Thanks Emily
Excellent capture!
Thanks Gilma
This is awesome, thanks for sharing!
Amazing series!!
Great series, very interesting how they make a bridge with their bodies and get the silk to bind the leaves, thank you for sharing, MacChristiansen.
Thanks Rieko
Beautiful spotting.... The ones around here in India are more orange than green!!
This is amazing and very nice series.
Added photo
Thanks DrNamgyalT.Sherpa
Some teamwork! Look at the one behind grabbing the thread-like waist of the other with such balance that it doesn't snap, at the same time supports the bridge so formed! Great shots!
Thanks Luis, a good example of teamwork
I love this series. Well done Mac!