Template:POTD/2022-08-05
Oecophylla smaragdina is a species of arboreal weaver ant found in tropical Asia and Australia. It forms colonies with multiple nests in trees, each nest being made of leaves stitched together using the silk produced by the ant larvae. The species is organized into three castes: workers, major workers, and queens. Workers are 5 to 6 millimetres (0.20 to 0.24 in) long; they look after larvae and farm scale insects for honeydew. Major workers are 8 to 10 millimetres (0.3 to 0.4 in) long, with long strong legs and large mandibles. They forage, assemble and expand the nest. Both types of workers are orange in color. Queens are typically 20 to 25 millimetres (0.8 to 1.0 in) long, and normally greenish-brown, giving the species its name smaragdina (Latin for 'emerald'). This video depicts an army of O. smaragdina worker ants carrying a dead gecko in Laos.Video credit: Basile Morin