Green Tree Ant

Oecophylla smaragdina

Description:

Workers are about 5-10 mm long and yellowish-green. Workers from the same nest vary in size but all have similar body proportions. The waist has a single, relatively long segment.

Notes:

Green Tree Ants, sometimes called Weaver Ants, build balloon-shaped nests among the foliage of trees and shrubs. Groups of workers pull leaves close to each other and 'weave' them together with silk produced by the larvae. A Green Tree Ant colony may consist of many nests spread over several trees but there is only a single queen. Green Tree Ants occur across northern Australia from the Kimberly region in Western Australia to about Gladstone in Queensland. They are found in all forest types but do not occur in the highlands. Green Tree Ant workers are aggressive and defend their nests by swarming onto the attacker. They cannot sting but bite with their jaws and squirt a burning fluid from the tip of the abdomen onto the wound. Green Tree Ants are predators and also collect honeydew from sap-sucking insects.

Species ID Suggestions

36 Comments (1–25)

MacChristiansen 10 years ago

Thanks Rosa

Rosa Maria 10 years ago

Poor Lady Bug. Thanks for the description of the Weaver Ants that's very interesting.

kdpicturemaker 10 years ago

Congrats on SotD. Great photo & distressing at the same time! Poor Lady Beetle didn't stand a chance.

MacChristiansen 10 years ago

Thanks, outsidegirl0,Nayeli ,Antonio & Reiko

outsidegirl0 10 years ago

awsome spotting of the day, Mac!

Nayeli 10 years ago

Fantastic shot!

AntónioGinjaGinja 10 years ago

Very cool spotting MacChristiansen,perfect series,last picture is amazing,congrats on the well deserved SOTD and thanks for sharing your great spotting page

RiekoS 10 years ago

Awesome series! Congratulations!!

MacChristiansen 10 years ago

Mark is OK by me EnvUnlimited, Mac is a nickname.

Leuba Ridgway 10 years ago

Brilliant spotting and interesting context ! Well done Mac - Congratulations !!

MacChristiansen 10 years ago

Thanks again Mark

Mark Ridgway 10 years ago

Yes a well deserved series. Congrats Mac.

MacChristiansen 10 years ago

Thanks Karen

KarenL 10 years ago

Congrats Mac, your awesome capture is Spotting of the Day!

Green tree ants are known for their amazing nest building ability - workers weave together leaves to create nests and build colonies that span numerous trees and contain more than half a million ants.

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