What the sources say
Asian Weaver AntOecophylla smaragdina
Every figure, record and mechanism on the Asian Weaver Ant profile was written from a source, and this is the working table behind it: 49 claims checked word for word against these sources. The left column is what the page says. The right column is the source's own words, copied, not paraphrased; a ... marks a cut and[brackets] an insertion. Open any source and check it yourself.
Profile updated
Source
01
Chapuisat & Keller 2002
Chapuisat & Keller (2002). Division of labour influences the rate of ageing in weaver ant workers. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences.
- The page saysWorkers come in two distinct sizes
- The source says
The worker size was clearly bimodal in our sample
- The page saysIn colonies collected in Australia, major workers were about 8 millimetres long and weighed about 3 milligrams dried; minor workers were about 4.5 millimetres and weighed a third as much
- The source says
The major workers were ca . 8.0 mm long ... The minor workers were ca . 4.5 mm long ... The dry weight of the major workers was about three times that of the minor workers (mean ± s.d. = 3.0 ± 1.0 mg for the majors, n = 10, and 1.0 ± 0.1 mg for the minors
Note: colonies collected in Townsville, Queensland, Australia. - The page saysDefending the colony is dangerous work, and researchers consider it very likely that majors die from outside causes far more often than minors
- The source says
Colony defence and foraging are dangerous tasks associated with high mortality in ants ... it is very likely that the major workers suffer from much higher rates of extrinsic mortality than the minor workers do
Note: extrinsic mortality = death from outside causes; the paper says field mortality rates have not been measured, hence "very likely". - The page saysIn a lab study of three colonies, every worker had died within 43 weeks
- The source says
Three colonies of O. smaragdina were collected ... and shipped by plane to La Trobe University, Victoria, Australia ... All workers died within 43 weeks
- The page saysminors had a significantly higher chance of survival than majors, though the study could not say by how much
- The source says
In captivity, the minor workers had a significantly higher survival probability than the major workers ... Our study does not allow a precise determination of the difference in the lifespan between the minor and major workers
Source
02
Sangma & Prasad 2021
Sangma & Prasad (2021). Population and Nesting Behaviour of Weaver Ants, Oecophylla smaragdina from Meghalaya, India. Sociobiology.
- The page sayspull leaves together, even forming living chains
- The source says
While building the nest, the worker ants pull the leaves and glue them using their larvae silk. In the case of leaves that are far, a group of worker ants move towards the target leaves and form the ants chain to pull towards the nest site by shortening the chain by one ant at a time until the leaves are ... close enough to be glued together
Note: tagline, first half. "..." skips a running-header line break the PDF extraction inserted mid-sentence; chains are formed when the leaves are far, hence "even". - The page saysthen glue them with silk squeezed from their own larvae
- The source says
The last instar larvae are used for gluing in which the worker ant squeezes the larvae gently, and the silk is produced
Note: tagline, second half. - The page saysArboreal architects
- The source says
Weaver ants ( Oecophylla sp.) are arboreal, eusocial insects
Note: tagline opening; the genus statement covers this species. - The page saysInsects, grubs and earthworms
- The source says
the ants feed on different types of insects like cricket, grasshoppers, beetles, butterflies, flies, fly larvae, beetle grubs, earthworms, and sometimes dead rodents or birds
Note: stats.diet, first half; observed in Ri-Bhoi district, Meghalaya, India. - The page sayswhile other workers glue the leaves with silk squeezed from their own larvae
- The source says
another worker ant comes along with the larva in its mandible to glue the leaves ... The last instar larvae are used for gluing in which the worker ant squeezes the larvae gently, and the silk is produced
Note: stats.superpower, second half. - The page saysTrees across tropical Asia into northern Australia, nesting in their leaves
- The source says
O. smaragdina (Fabricius), distributed in tropical Asia to Northern Australia and O. longinoda (Latreille) distributed in Africa (Cole & Jones, 1948). Weaver ants exhibit a unique strategy of nest building on the tree using the leaves for nest construction
Note: stats.habitat. - The page saysNot Evaluated
- The source says
O. smaragdina (Fabricius), distributed in tropical Asia to Northern Australia
Note: stats.conservationStatus. No reference in the profile states a Red List status; this anchors the species name only. GBIF's copy of the Red List returns NOT_EVALUATED with no IUCN taxon id for Oecophylla smaragdina (Fabricius, 1775), usage key 1317388, checked 2026-09-17, and Crossref has no 10.2305 assessment DOI for the name. The species has no Red List assessment; precedent suffolk-sheep and clydesdale-horse. - The page saysbuilds its nest from leaves still on the tree, glued together with silk from its own larvae
- The source says
Weaver ants exhibit a unique strategy of nest building on the tree using the leaves for nest construction
Note: intro; the silk half is the next claim's quote. - The page saysglued together with silk from its own larvae
- The source says
While building the nest, the worker ants pull the leaves and glue them using their larvae silk
- The page saysA few workers bite a leaf edge, pull it closer, and hold on
- The source says
Few worker ants start to bite the leaves, pull them closer, and hold them until another worker ant comes along with the larva in its mandible to glue the leaves
- The page saysIf the target leaf is far away, a group of workers forms a chain and pulls it toward the nest, shortening the chain one ant at a time until the leaves are close enough to glue
- The source says
In the case of leaves that are far, a group of worker ants move towards the target leaves and form the ants chain to pull towards the nest site by shortening the chain by one ant at a time until the leaves are ... close enough to be glued together
Note: "..." skips a running-header line break the PDF extraction inserted mid-sentence. - The page saysThen another worker arrives carrying a larva in its final growth stage (the last instar) in its jaws. It gently squeezes the larva, which produces silk, and uses that silk to glue the leaves together.
- The source says
another worker ant comes along with the larva in its mandible to glue the leaves ... The last instar larvae are used for gluing in which the worker ant squeezes the larvae gently, and the silk is produced
Note: "final growth stage" glosses "last instar" for the audience. - The page saysThe species ranges across tropical Asia into northern Australia
- The source says
O. smaragdina (Fabricius), distributed in tropical Asia to Northern Australia
- The page saysIn Meghalaya, India, they were seen eating insects, grubs, earthworms and sometimes dead rodents or birds
- The source says
It was observed that the ants feed on different types of insects like cricket, grasshoppers, beetles, butterflies, flies, fly larvae, beetle grubs, earthworms, and sometimes dead rodents or birds
Note: Ri-Bhoi district, Meghalaya, India. - The page saysA study of 15 nests in Meghalaya counted an average of 4,316 queens, workers, larvae and pupae per nest
- The source says
A total of 15 nests of these weaver ants were collected for further study ... The number of queens, worker ants, larvae, and pupae were recorded to know the population in a nest ... Mean 9483.53 6.11 2.19 20.80 17.73 4316.33
Note: Table 1 (15 nests, Ri-Bhoi district, Meghalaya, India): the Population column's mean is 4316.33, rounded to 4,316; population = queens + workers + larvae + pupae per the methods. - The page saysWorkers also clean the nest with venom-gland secretions (formic acid) to ward off bacterial and fungal infections
- The source says
They also clean the nest by applying venom gland secretions (formic acid) to avoid bacterial and fungal infections
Note: Sangma & Prasad's introduction, citing Tragust 2016. - The page saysWorkers bite a leaf edge, pull it closer, and hold it there.
- The source says
Few worker ants start to bite the leaves, pull them closer, and hold them until another worker ant comes along with the larva in its mandible to glue the leaves
Note: faq 1. - The page saysWhen the target leaf is far away, a group of workers forms a chain and pulls it toward the nest, shortening the chain one ant at a time until the leaves are close enough to be glued together.
- The source says
In the case of leaves that are far, a group of worker ants move towards the target leaves and form the ants chain to pull towards the nest site by shortening the chain by one ant at a time until the leaves are ... close enough to be glued together
Note: faq 1. - The page saysWhile other workers hold the leaves, a worker brings a larva in its final growth stage (the last instar) in its jaws and gently squeezes it, which makes the larva produce silk. The worker uses that silk to glue the leaves together.
- The source says
Few worker ants start to bite the leaves, pull them closer, and hold them until another worker ant comes along with the larva in its mandible to glue the leaves (Fig 7). The last instar larvae are used for gluing in which the worker ant squeezes the larvae gently, and the silk is produced
Note: faq 2. - The page saysdangerLevel: Low
- The source says
These weaver ants are also used as medicine, food and fish bait by the indigenous people in Meghalaya
Note: task #564; Low is "Effectively harmless to people". No cached source reports an injury to a person; people collect the nests by hand to eat. The capability is an 8 mm ant (division-2002) that bites and applies formic acid from its venom gland (sangma-2021).
Source
03
Stewardson et al. 2025
Stewardson et al. (2025). Superefficient teamwork in weaver ants. Current Biology.
- The page saysPulling teams in which each ant's average force nearly doubles as the team grows
- The source says
The average force contribution per individual almost doubled as team size increased
Note: stats.superpower, first half. - The page saysOn average, each ant pulls harder in a bigger team.
- The source says
The average force contribution per individual almost doubled as team size increased
Note: blockquote lead-in: the average force per individual. - The page saysIn human and animal teams, each member's effort can drop as the team grows, an effect known as the Ringelmann effect
- The source says
in both human and non-human animal teams, the effort contributed by each member may, in fact, decrease as team size grows. This counterintuitive phenomenon, known as the Ringelmann effect
- The page saysWeaver ant pulling teams show the opposite: the average force each ant contributed nearly doubled as team size increased
- The source says
The average force contribution per individual almost doubled as team size increased, demonstrating that weaver ants not only avoid the Ringelmann effect but achieve the opposite
- The page saysThe researchers propose a "force ratchet," where some ants actively pull and the force they generate is stored in chains of "passive resisters."
- The source says
We propose that this superefficiency is facilitated by a division of labor within teams: "active pullers" work together to generate a pulling force that is stored in chains of "passive resisters," which capitalize on the remarkable frictional strength of weaver ant attachment organs; weaver ant teams thereby act as a "force ratchet."
- The page saysThose resisters rely on the remarkable grip of their feet
- The source says
passive resisters," which capitalize on the remarkable frictional strength of weaver ant attachment organs
Note: "grip" for frictional strength; "feet" for attachment organs, which sit at the tips of the legs (biomechanics-2001: pretarsal adhesive organ). - The page saysNo, the opposite.
- The source says
weaver ants not only avoid the Ringelmann effect but achieve the opposite
Note: faq 3. - The page saysIn human and animal teams, each member's effort can drop as the team grows, an effect known as the Ringelmann effect, but in weaver ants the average pulling force per ant nearly doubled as teams got bigger.
- The source says
in both human and non-human animal teams, the effort contributed by each member may, in fact, decrease as team size grows. This counterintuitive phenomenon, known as the Ringelmann effect ... The average force contribution per individual almost doubled as team size increased
Note: faq 3. - The page saysResearchers propose that some ants actively pull while the force they generate is stored in chains of passive resisters, and the team thereby acts as a force ratchet.
- The source says
We propose that this superefficiency is facilitated by a division of labor within teams: "active pullers" work together to generate a pulling force that is stored in chains of "passive resisters," which capitalize on the remarkable frictional strength of weaver ant attachment organs; weaver ant teams thereby act as a "force ratchet."
Note: faq 3. - The page saysfor an ant whose teams interlock, the average force each individual contributes almost doubling as the team grows
- The source says
The average force contribution per individual almost doubled as team size increased
Note: vibe.reason, task #564; replaces "sunny tropical precision", a place and a mood. Band, song, genre and the music description are unchanged.
Source
04
Federle et al. 2001
Federle et al. (2001). Biomechanics of the movable pretarsal adhesive organ in ants and bees. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
- The page saysBetween the claws sits a flexible pad called an arolium, which unfolds and folds back with every step when the ants run upside down on a smooth surface
- The source says
Hymenoptera attach to smooth surfaces with a flexible pad, the arolium, between the claws. Here we investigate its movement in Asian weaver ants (Oecophylla smaragdina) and honeybees (Apis mellifera). When ants run upside down on a smooth surface, the arolium is unfolded and folded back with each step
- The page saysIn severed weaver ant legs, raising the pressure of the ant's blood (hemolymph) by just 15 kilopascals was enough to inflate the pad to full size
- The source says
In severed legs of O. smaragdina ants, an increase in hemolymph pressure of 15 kPa was sufficient to inflate the arolium to its full size
Note: hemolymph is insect blood; 15 kPa = 15 kilopascals.
Source
05
Kamhi et al. 2015
Kamhi et al. (2015). Polymorphism and division of labour in a socially complex ant: neuromodulation of aggression in the Australian weaver ant, Oecophylla smaragdina. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.
- The page saysMajors aggressively defend the colony's treetop territory, while minors nurse the brood
- The source says
larger major workers aggressively defend arboreal territories, whereas smaller minors nurse brood
- The page saysMajors' brains also hold more octopamine, a brain chemical that helps control aggression; switching its action in the lab reversed each size's usual aggression level.
- The source says
octopamine (OA) modulates worker size-related aggression in O. smaragdina. We found that the brains of majors had significantly higher titres of OA than those of minors ... Pharmacological manipulations that effectively switched OA action in major and minor worker brains reversed levels of aggression characteristic of each worker size class
- The page saystags: social-colony
- The source says
larger major workers aggressively defend arboreal territories, whereas smaller minors nurse brood
Note: task #564; replaces social. The definition asks for a colony with a strict division of labor and collective defense, which is what the two worker castes are; division-2002 is titled for that division of labour.
Source
06
Babu & Patil 2021
Babu & Patil (2021). Antennal lobe organisation in ant, Oecophylla smaragdina: A Golgi study. Journal of Biosciences.
- The page saysone study counted 220 of the small structures called glomeruli in a major worker's smell centre, against 140 in a minor's
- The source says
Antennal lobes (AL) are the primary olfactory centres of the insect brain ... We could count 220 glomeruli in the AL of the major worker, whereas only 140 glomeruli were located in AL of minor workers
Note: AL = antennal lobe, the brain's primary olfactory (smell) centre. - The page saysTheir brains differ too
- The source says
AL volume, total number of glomeruli and its spatial organisation were different in the castes of Oecophylla smaragdina
Source
07
Dlussky, Wappler & Wedmann 2008
Dlussky, Wappler & Wedmann (2008). New Middle Eocene Formicid Species from Germany and the Evolution of Weaver Ants. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica.
- The page saystwo fossil Oecophylla species from Germany, about 47 and 43 million years old, are among its oldest records, and workers of the younger one already show the first adaptations for moving through a forest canopy
- The source says
Oecophylla longiceps Dlussky sp. nov. are found in the middle Eocene (about 47 Ma) of Grube Messel, Germany. Males, gynes and two workers of O. eckfeldiana Dlussky sp. nov. are recorded from the middle Eocene (about 43 Ma) of Eckfeld maar, Germany. The two new species are among the oldest records of the extant genus Oecophylla . First adaptations for moving in the forest canopy are present in the workers of O. eckfeldiana
- The page saysThe genus is old
- The source says
The two new species are among the oldest records of the extant genus Oecophylla
Source
08
Blüthgen & Fiedler 2002
Blüthgen & Fiedler (2002). Interactions between weaver ants Oecophylla smaragdina, homopterans, trees and lianas in an Australian rain forest canopy. Journal of Animal Ecology.
- The page saysplus honeydew from the scale insects, treehoppers, aphids and mealybugs they tend
- The source says
Most commonly attended trophobionts by O. smaragdina at this study site were Coccidae (Coccus sp., Milviscutulus sp.) and Membracidae (Sextius sp.), followed by Toxoptera aurantii (Aphidae), Planococcus citri (Pseudococcidae)
Note: stats.diet, second half. Coccidae = scale insects, Membracidae = treehoppers, Toxoptera aurantii = an aphid, Planococcus citri = a mealybug (Pseudococcidae). Study site: rain forest canopy, northern Queensland, Australia; the abstract calls them honeydew-producing trophobionts. - The page saysIn an Australian rainforest canopy, workers mostly tended scale insects and treehoppers, then aphids and mealybugs, for their honeydew
- The source says
honeydew‐producing trophobionts (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha and Auchenorrhyncha, Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) were studied in a rain forest canopy in Northern Queensland, Australia. Most commonly attended trophobionts by O. smaragdina at this study site were Coccidae (Coccus sp., Milviscutulus sp.) and Membracidae (Sextius sp.), followed by Toxoptera aurantii (Aphidae), Planococcus citri (Pseudococcidae)
Note: Coccidae = scale insects, Membracidae = treehoppers, Toxoptera aurantii = an aphid, Planococcus citri = a mealybug (Pseudococcidae). Study site: rain forest canopy, northern Queensland, Australia; the abstract calls them honeydew-producing trophobionts. - The page saystags: rainforest
- The source says
were studied in a rain forest canopy in Northern Queensland, Australia
Note: task #564; kept. regulation-1992 also has the species dominant at "forest and savanna" bait sites in the Australian seasonal tropics, but the savanna tag's definition (enduring prolonged dry seasons and following migrating herbivore herds) describes a large grazing mammal, not an arboreal ant, so it was not added.
Source
09
Blüthgen, Gebauer & Fiedler 2003
Blüthgen, Gebauer & Fiedler (2003). Disentangling a rainforest food web using stable isotopes: dietary diversity in a species-rich ant community. Oecologia.
- The page saystags: omnivore
- The source says
Colonies of the dominant weaver-ants (Oecophylla smaragdina) had significantly lower delta(15)N in mature forests (where preferred honeydew and nectar sources are abundant) than in open secondary vegetation
Note: task #564; replaces carnivore, whose definition is a diet centred on animal flesh. The same paper puts ant species "in a continuum between largely herbivorous and purely predacious taxa, with a high degree of omnivory"; the prey side is sangma-2021's insects, grubs, earthworms and dead rodents or birds.
Source
10
Andersen 1992
Andersen (1992). Regulation of "Momentary" Diversity by Dominant Species in Exceptionally Rich Ant Communities of the Australian Seasonal Tropics. The American Naturalist.
- The page saysAt tuna baits in northern Australian forest and savanna, they and Iridomyrmex ants were the dominant species, monopolizing more than 80 percent of the baits where they turned up
- The source says
Iridomyrmex spp. and Oecophylla smaragdina were dominant ants at the forest and savanna sites studied: they occurred at a large proportion (35%-85%) of tuna baits, they dominated and monopolized most (>80%) of the baits at which they occurred
Note: sites in the seasonal tropics of northern Australia (title).
How the table was made: a writer drafted the profile from these sources and logged each claim with its quote, a reviewer with nothing but this table checked every sentence said no more than its quote, and a script confirmed each quote appears word for word in the source. The method is in the site'sAbout page.