Abstract
The colony structure of Oecophylla smaragdina within the compound of Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang Island, Malaysia was determined. The current study involved a total of twelve nests which were taken from two different locations. Each nest was dissected and the specimens were separated according to their caste. Results show that the colony structure of O. smaragdina consisted of a dealate queen, eggs, larvae of female alates, pupae of major and minor workers, pupae of female alates, major workers, minor workers, female alates and male alates. Our present study shows that O. smaragdina had a distinct caste system and the numbers of individuals in each caste reflect their respective functions which contributed to the success of their colony.
Highlights
Weaver ants, or Oecophylla, are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae (Order: Hymenoptera)
The current study showed the basic colony structure of O. smaragdina ants consisted of dealate queens, male alates, female alates, major workers, minor workers, eggs, larvae and pupae
Our results show that the number of female alates in the KAFA colony was higher than the TI colony (80.00 ± 26.09; 11.00 ± 5.08)
Summary
Oecophylla, are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae (Order: Hymenoptera). They are classified under the subfamily Formicinae. The Asian weaver ant, O. smaragdina is well distributed throughout most of the Oriental region from India to Queensland and the Solomon Island (Greenslade 1972). They are common in the lowland of Peninsular Malaysia and have become an important ant in the tree canopies of the humid tropics of Southeast Malaysia, Australia, and Pacific islands ( Jander & Jander 1979; Bluthgen & Fiedler 2002). Previous studies reported the existence of single or multiple queens in the colonies of O. smaragdina
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