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Weaver Ants
Weaver ants are reddish ants that live in the tropical forests of Africa and India. They are also found in Australia and the Solomon Islands. They are famous for the elaborate treetop nests they build. Weaver ants are champions of cooperation when it comes to building a nest. Even the recently hatched larvae pitch in! They provide the thread that stitches the nest together.
The nest starts very simply. A group of worker ants finds a leaf that is soft and easy to bend. Several ants line up. Each holds an edge of a leaf in its mandibles and feet. Slowly, the ants pull the two leaf edges together. More and more workers join in. They link their feet and pull until the two leaf edges are nearly touching.
Next, other worker ants carry larvae from the old nest and gently squeeze them between their mandibles. This causes the larvae to ooze a thin thread of silk. Then the workers get busy. Just like tiny tailors, they stitch the leaves together. In fact, another name for weaver ants is “tailor ants.” Treetop nests can become extremely large. Sometimes they even connect branches from two nearby trees.
A giant weaver ant nest may look like it is damaging the leaves and branches of a tree. But weaver ants actually protect the tree they are living in. The ants act like miniature bodyguards for the tree. They keep other animals like birds, reptiles, and other insects from living in the tree or eating it. Sharing the same resource or living space is called symbiosis.
A Sweet Deal:
Weaver ants have a “sweet tooth” that some creatures use to their advantage. Certain butterfly caterpillars produce drops of a sweet liquid called honeydew. The honeydew attracts weaver ants to the caterpillars. The ants then protect the caterpillars.
Some caterpillars have a clever plot though. By luring the ants with their sweet honeydew, they are able to enter the ants’ treetop nest and gobble up their larvae! Another arthropod also tricks the weaver ants. Certain species of jumping spiders look and smell like weaver ants. This allows them to enter the weaver ants’ nest without being noticed. Once inside, the jumping spiders eat the ants as well as their eggs and larvae.
Info. Courtesy: www.globio.org/glossopedia/article.aspx?art_id=11&art...
Weaver Ants
Weaver ants are reddish ants that live in the tropical forests of Africa and India. They are also found in Australia and the Solomon Islands. They are famous for the elaborate treetop nests they build. Weaver ants are champions of cooperation when it comes to building a nest. Even the recently hatched larvae pitch in! They provide the thread that stitches the nest together.
The nest starts very simply. A group of worker ants finds a leaf that is soft and easy to bend. Several ants line up. Each holds an edge of a leaf in its mandibles and feet. Slowly, the ants pull the two leaf edges together. More and more workers join in. They link their feet and pull until the two leaf edges are nearly touching.
Next, other worker ants carry larvae from the old nest and gently squeeze them between their mandibles. This causes the larvae to ooze a thin thread of silk. Then the workers get busy. Just like tiny tailors, they stitch the leaves together. In fact, another name for weaver ants is “tailor ants.” Treetop nests can become extremely large. Sometimes they even connect branches from two nearby trees.
A giant weaver ant nest may look like it is damaging the leaves and branches of a tree. But weaver ants actually protect the tree they are living in. The ants act like miniature bodyguards for the tree. They keep other animals like birds, reptiles, and other insects from living in the tree or eating it. Sharing the same resource or living space is called symbiosis.
A Sweet Deal:
Weaver ants have a “sweet tooth” that some creatures use to their advantage. Certain butterfly caterpillars produce drops of a sweet liquid called honeydew. The honeydew attracts weaver ants to the caterpillars. The ants then protect the caterpillars.
Some caterpillars have a clever plot though. By luring the ants with their sweet honeydew, they are able to enter the ants’ treetop nest and gobble up their larvae! Another arthropod also tricks the weaver ants. Certain species of jumping spiders look and smell like weaver ants. This allows them to enter the weaver ants’ nest without being noticed. Once inside, the jumping spiders eat the ants as well as their eggs and larvae.
Info. Courtesy: www.globio.org/glossopedia/article.aspx?art_id=11&art...