Weaver Ant
Oecophylla smaragdina
A tailor ant that sews leaves with larval silk
Weaver ants stitch leaves into nest chambers using silk from their mature larvae, passing each grub along like a shuttle while teammates hold the edges. Colonies tens of thousands strong span many trees, defended by bites backed with sprays of formic acid.
Key figures
- Size
- Workers are 5–8 mm long
- Nest
- Living leaf tents stitched shut with silk drawn from mature larvae
- Colony
- Tens of thousands strong, holding territory across many trees
- Habitat
- Tropical canopies of Asia and northern Australia
- Weapon
- A painful mandible bite finished with jets of formic acid
- Diet
- Small insects hunted in teams; honeydew farmed from scale insects
Life cycle
Egg → Larva → Pupa → Adult
Ecological role
A fierce territorial predator, it guards orchard trees so well that Asian growers have hosted nests in citrus for centuries.
Did you know
In northern Australia the "green ant" was a traditional Aboriginal food; its lemony gasters are still nibbled fresh today.
Range
South and Southeast Asia, northern Australia
Status
Common locally; harvested for pest control
Anatomy
- Mandibles — Long, toothy jaws seize prey, grip leaf edges — and deliver a fierce nip
- Waist (petiole) — The domed waist joint lets the gaster swing forward to aim its acid sprays
- Gaster — Keeps formic acid pressurized inside, ready to jet onto whatever the jaws hold
- Antennae — Ever-tapping feelers read trails and confirm nestmates through a shared colony scent
- Eyes — Large compound eyes serve a daytime hunter that navigates between sunlit leaves
- Legs — Long limbs with claws and sticky pads walk slick leaf surfaces and link into bridges
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