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Oecophylla smaragdina
Oecophylla weaver ants are known for their remarkable cooperative behaviour used in nest construction.They are obligately arboreal and are known for their unique nest building behaviour where workers construct nests by weaving together leaves using larval silk.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. The weaver ant's ability to build capacious nests from living leaves has undeniably contributed to their ecological success.
Spotted on Feb 3, 2013
Submitted on Feb 3, 2013
4 Comments
Nice spotting and information
Yes, Wikipedia needs to edit their article :-)
Thanks S Frazier . I have edited it. This is Oecophylla smaragdina found in 'NORTHEASTERN INDIA'.
This genus contains only 2 living (extant) species. Oecophylla longinoda is found in Sub-Saharan Africa so it is safe to say that this is Oecophylla smaragdina found in southern India, southeast Asia, New Guinea and Australia.