Green weaver ant (Oecophylla smaragdina)

Rangrang or Asian weaver ant or green weaver ant (Oecophylla smaragdina) is a species of insects in Formicidae, arboreal, rather large ants that are known to have high ability in forming webbing for nests, brown-red-green, social insects and forming colonies in very high populations.

O. smaragdina creates territorial, fierce temperament and attacks anything that approaches the area. Many tree owners in Southeast Asia use them to preserve fruit. The larvae are known as Kroto which are favored by birds being a secondary trading commodity for additional income by farmers.

Ant Weaver has two species that are still alive is the Asian weaver ant (O. smaragdina) which is widespread in tropical Asia and Australia, African weaver ant (O. longinoda) inhabits the tropics in Africa, while the other species in this genus are fossils.

They are the dominant ants in the open forest and make leaf nests which are held together with larval silk. Ants have been important in research on the integration of control, communication, territoriality, colonizing life and controlling agricultural pests.

Weaver ant is a true social insect, has a social structure and the life of the colony is very dependent on the tree. The queen are females, measuring 20-25 mm, green or brown in color and has the duty to spawn babies. The male is in charge of marrying the queen and dying.

The worker are females, measuring 56 mm, orange and greenish, in charge of caring for young ants. Warriors are females, measuring 810 mm, generally orange in color, having strong long legs, long antennae, large jaws, guarding nests, searching and gathering food for all colonies and building nests.

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Formicinae
Genus: Oecophylla
Species: O. smaragdina

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