Animal Database

Hi Homo sapien! Welcome to Animal Database! Anyway, did you know that you're 60% genetically similar to banana trees?

READ MORE

Animal Database
Advertisement
Animal Database
Weaver-ant

This article is a stub. You can help the Animal Database wiki by expanding it.

Weaver Ants are an species of ant that are eusocial insects that are most known for building their nests by using silk to weave leaves together, hence their name. These ants are highly territorial and they aggressively defend their territories against intruders. Because of their aggressive behavior, weaver ants are sometime used by farmers in South East Asia, as a easy way of keeping pests out of their crops.

Taxonomy[]

The weaver ants belong to the ant genus Oecophylla (subfamily Formicinae) which contains two closely related living species: O. longinoda and O. smaragdina. They are provisionally placed in a tribe of their own, Oecophyllini. The weaver ant genus Oecophylla is relatively old, and 15 fossil species have been found from the Eocene to Miocene deposits. Two other genera of weaving ants, Polyrhachis, Camponotus and Dendromyrmex, also use larval silk in nest construction, but the construction and architecture of their nests are simpler than those of Oecophylla.

Trivia[]

  • Their silk is waterproof.
  • They may understand sustainability.
  • They may put formic acid from their abdomen on their mandibles in the face of a threat.
  • They recycle their silk from old leaf nests.
Advertisement