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Oecophylla

AntWiki: The Ants --- Online
Oecophylla
Temporal range: 48.6–0 Ma Eocene – Recent
Oecophylla smaragdina
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Formicinae
Tribe: Oecophyllini
Genus: Oecophylla
Smith, F., 1860
Type species
Formica virescens (junior synonym of Oecophylla smaragdina)
Diversity
15 species
16 fossil species
(Species Checklist, Species by Country)

Oecophylla smaragdina

Specimen Label

Synonyms

“Weaver ants”, the common name for species of Oecophylla, consists of two Old World species that occupy humid tropical to subtropical forests: Oecophylla smaragdina in southeast Asia from northern India through Queensland, Australia, and Oecophylla longinoda in the Afrotropics (Lokkers 1986; Wetterer 2017a, 2017b). Both species are canopy dwellers, where they form multiple nests per colony across multiple trees, with a single queen in the main nest. A single colony can have more than 500,000 individuals and build hundreds of nests, in several trees, that are aggressively defended against other conspecific colonies and other ants (Hölldobler, 1979; Hölldobler & Lumsden, 1980; Hölldobler & Wilson, 1990). Nests are made of leaves that workers join using the silk glands of larvae that they hold in their mandibles, hence their common name (Hölldobler and Wilson 1990; Crozier et al. 2010). The ants have long legs suitable for rapid movement from leaf to leaf and a reduced petiole with an elongate, low node, which allows the gaster to be reflexed over the mesosoma, enabling greater agility in moving through treetops by shifting the centre of gravity forwards (Dlussky 1981; Dlussky et al. 2008). Weaver ants are predaceous and hunt large insect prey, not only in the canopy but also in the surrounding vegetation or on the ground. They also tend honeydew-producing insects, sternorrhynchs and auchenorrhynchs (Hemiptera) and lycaenid caterpillars (Lepidoptera), to supplement their diet (Weber, 1949c; Hölldobler & Lumsden, 1980).

Despite the large popularity of the genus (Hölldobler & Wilson, 1990), its taxonomy is in a very disappointing condition since it has not yet benefited from a modern taxonomic revision. Both species together contain 12 subspecies, and it is unclear whether some of these merit species status or should just be regarded as junior synonyms. [Above modified from Hita Garcia, Wiesel and Fischer (2013) and Archibald et al. (2024).]

Photo Gallery

  • The highly visual workers of Oecophylla are especially aware of their surroundings. (Photo by Steve Shattuck.)

Identification

See images of species within this genus

Keys including this Genus

 

Distribution

Distribution and Richness based on AntMaps

Species by Region

Number of species within biogeographic regions, along with the total number of species for each region.

Afrotropical Region Australasian Region Indo-Australian Region Malagasy Region Nearctic Region Neotropical Region Oriental Region Palaearctic Region
Species 9 1 6 0 0 0 1 1
Total Species 2851 1736 3047 932 840 4391 1767 2925

Fossils

Fossils are known from: Baltic amber, Baltic Sea region, Europe (Priabonian, Late Eocene), Bembridge Marls, Isle of Wight, UK (Priabonian, Late Eocene), Bitterfeld amber, Baltic Sea region, Europe (Priabonian, Late Eocene), Bournemouth, Dorset, U.K. (Bartonian, Middle Eocene), Brunstatt, Haut-Rhin, France (Early Oligocene), Eckfeld, Germany (Lutetian, Middle Eocene), Kleinkems, Germany (Early Oligocene), Klondike Formation, Republic, Washington, United States (Lutetian, Middle Eocene), Mfwangano Island, Lake Victoria, Kenya (Early Miocene), Malyi Kamyshlak, Kerch, Crimea, Russian Federation (Middle Miocene), Messel, Germany (Lutetian, Middle Eocene), Montagne d'Andance, Saint-Bauzile, Ardèche, France (Early Turolian, Late Miocene), Radoboj, Croatia (Burdigalian, Early Miocene), Sicilian amber, Italy (Late/Upper Miocene), Tallahatta Formation, Mississippi, United States (Lutetian, Middle Eocene), Vishnevaya Balka Creek, Stavropol, Russian Federation (Middle Miocene).

Biology

There is a webpage with a list of some recent publications about weaver ants. You can also read an overview of their biology from the a chapter in The Ants: The Weaver Ants (Hölldobler and Wilson 1990).

Crozier et al. (2010) give a comprehensive synthesis of the biology of this genus, with only two species that are ecologically dominant over large parts of three continents.

Oecophylla smaragdina is also a popular food in Thailand (see Human Culture and Ants).

Association with Other Organisms

All Associate Records for Genus

Click here to show/hide associate data.
Taxon Relationship Associate Type Associate Taxon Associate Relationship Locality Source Notes
Oecophylla longinoda host encyrtid wasp Anagyrus lopezi parasite Universal Chalcidoidea Database associate
Oecophylla longinoda host fungus Akanthomyces gracilis parasitoid Quevillon, 2018 encounter mode primary; direct transmission; transmission outside nest
Oecophylla longinoda host fungus Ophiocordyceps unilateralis parasitoid Quevillon, 2018 encounter mode primary; direct transmission; transmission outside nest
Oecophylla longinoda host fungus Stilbella burmensis parasitoid Quevillon, 2018 encounter mode primary; direct transmission; transmission outside nest
Oecophylla longinoda host fungus Stilbum burmense parasitoid Quevillon, 2018 encounter mode primary; direct transmission; transmission outside nest
Oecophylla smaragdina associate (details unknown) encyrtid wasp Anagyrus lopezi associate (details unknown) Quevillon, 2018
Oecophylla smaragdina host chalcid wasp Smicromorpha doddi parasite Universal Chalcidoidea Database primary host
Oecophylla smaragdina host chalcid wasp Smicromorpha keralensis parasite Universal Chalcidoidea Database primary host
Oecophylla smaragdina host chalcid wasp Smicromorpha lagynos parasitoid Quevillon, 2018 encounter mode primary; direct transmission; transmission outside nest
Oecophylla smaragdina host chalcid wasp Smicromorpha masneri parasite Universal Chalcidoidea Database associate, primary host
Oecophylla smaragdina host chalcid wasp Smicromorpha minera parasitoid Quevillon, 2018 encounter mode primary; direct transmission; transmission outside nest
Oecophylla smaragdina host encyrtid wasp Paraphaenodiscus udayveeri parasite Universal Chalcidoidea Database associate
Oecophylla smaragdina host fungus Beauveria bassiana parasitoid Quevillon, 2018 encounter mode primary; direct transmission; transmission within nest
Oecophylla smaragdina host fungus Ophiocordyceps oecophyllae pathogen Araujo et al., 2018
Oecophylla smaragdina host fungus Stilbella spp. parasitoid Quevillon, 2018 encounter mode primary; direct transmission; transmission outside nest
Oecophylla smaragdina prey tiger beetle Cicindela duponti predator Western Ghats, India Sinu et al., 2006

Life History Traits

  • Mean colony size: 48000, but up to >500000 (Greer et al., 2021)
  • Compound colony type: not parasitic (Greer et al., 2021)
  • Nest site: arboreal (Greer et al., 2021)
  • Diet class: omnivore (Greer et al., 2021)
  • Foraging stratum: subterranean/leaf litter; arboreal (Greer et al., 2021)
  • Foraging behaviour: cooperative (Greer et al., 2021)

Castes

Morphology

Worker Morphology

 Explore: Show all Worker Morphology data or Search these data. See also a list of all data tables or learn how data is managed.

• Antennal segment count: 12 • Antennal club: absent-gradual, weak • Palp formula: 5,4 • Total dental count: 9-16 • Spur formula: 0, 0 • Eyes: >100 ommatidia • Scrobes: absent • Pronotal Spines: absent • Mesonotal Spines: absent • Propodeal Spines: absent • Petiolar Spines: absent • Caste: trimorphic • Sting: absent • Metaplural Gland: absent • Cocoon: absent

Karyotype

All Karyotype Records for Genus

 Explore: Show all Karyotype data or Search these data. See also a list of all data tables or learn how data is managed.
Click here to show/hide karyotype data.
Taxon Haploid Diploid Karyotype Locality Source Notes
Oecophylla longinoda 12 Crozier, 1970b
Oecophylla smaragdina 16 16M India Imai et al., 1984
Oecophylla smaragdina 8 Malaysia Crozier, 1970b

Phylogeny

Formicinae
Myrmelachistini
⊟
Lasiini
⊟
Melophorini
⊟
Formicini
⊟
Gesomyrmecini

Gesomyrmex  (7 species, 12 fossil species)

Oecophyllini

Oecophylla  (15 species, 16 fossil species)

Plagiolepidini
⊟
Gigantiopini

Gigantiops  (1 species, 0 fossil species)

Santschiellini

Santschiella  (1 species, 0 fossil species)

Myrmoteratini

Myrmoteras  (42 species, 0 fossil species)

Camponotini
⊟

See Phylogeny of Formicinae for details.

Fossil History

Oecophylla has a rich fossil record beginning in the Eocene (Bolton 2003) with 16 described fossil species, summarised and treated in detail by Dlussky et al. (2008), Perfilieva (2015, 2021), and Perfilieva et al. (2017). In the Western Hemisphere, Oecophylla species are known from their oldest occurrences in the mid-Ypresian Okanagan Highlands series of fossil sites at Quilchena, south–central British Columbia, Canada (Coldwater Beds, Quilchena, British Columbia, Canada (Ypresian, Early Eocene)) and at Republic, north–central Washington, United States (Klondike Formation, Republic, Washington, United States (Lutetian, Middle Eocene)) and from the middle Eocene of Mississippi, United States (Tallahatta Formation, Mississippi, United States (Lutetian, Middle Eocene)) (Johnston 1993). Fossil weaver ants have been reported in Europe from the latest Ypresian (Messel, Germany (Lutetian, Middle Eocene); Dlussky et al. 2008) to the Miocene (Radoboj, Croatia (Burdigalian, Early Miocene); Heer 1849), and from the Miocene of Africa (Mfwangano Island, Lake Victoria, Kenya (Early Miocene); Wilson and Taylor 1964).

Nomenclature

The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.

  • OECOPHYLLA [Formicinae: Oecophyllini]
    • Oecophylla Smith, F. 1860b: 101. Type-species: Formica virescens (junior synonym of Formica smaragdina), by subsequent designation of Bingham, 1903: 310.
    • Oecophylla as senior synonym of †Camponotites Dlussky: Perfilieva, et al. 2017: 399 (in text) [by implication as type-species of †Camponotites Dlussky transferred to Oecophylla].
  • †CAMPONOTITES [junior homonym of †Camponotites Steinbach; junior synonym of Oecophylla]
    • †Camponotites Dlussky, 1981b: 76. Type-species: †Camponotites macropterus Dlussky, 1981b: 76, by monotypy.
    • Taxonomic history
    • †Camponotites incertae sedis in Formicidae: Hölldobler & Wilson, 1990: 18; Dlussky & Rasnitsyn, 2002: 418; in Formicinae, Camponotini: Bolton, 1994: 50; Bolton, 1995b: 83; Bolton, 2003: 112.
    • †Camponotites as junior homonym and junior synonym of †Camponotites Steinbach: Dlussky, et al. 2011: 451.
    • †Camponotites as junior synonym of Oecophylla: Perfilieva, et al. 2017: 399 (in text) [by implication as type-species of †Camponotites Dlussky transferred to Oecophylla].

References

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