DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT
Ants of the genus Oecophylla occur in Africa, Asia, and Australia, where they inhabit shrubs and trees in cultivated plantations.
BEHAVIOUR
Ants are social insects. They live in colonies in which each group has specific roles. We distinguish the queen, workers of different castes, and males (drones).
DIET
They feed on plant sap and honeydew and, in turn, help protect the trees they inhabit by consuming eggs and larvae and by attacking adult insects with formic acid.
REPRODUCTION
Males develop from unfertilized eggs, their role is to take part in the nuptial flight and fertilize females, after which they die from exhaustion. The queen stores sperm in her spermatheca for life and then lays eggs from which diverse offspring develop – over her lifetime, she lays millions of eggs.
GOOD TO KNOW
They are highly aggressive, especially toward other ants living nearby.
- Latin name: Oecophylla
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