• Karruna Santoshasing Pardeshi

Weaver ants are the social insects belong to order Hymenoptera and family Formicidae They are very famous for their unique nest building behavior, where the workers construct the nest by weaving together the leaves by larval silk. They feed on small insects and supplement their diet with carbohydrate- rich honeydew excreted by small insects. Adult ants are red brown in color. Body shows three distinct parts, head, thorax and abdomen. The ants live on trees, where it built a nest, in size between that of a man's head and his fist, by bending the leaves together, and gluing them with whitish substance, Eyes are rounded and bigger, antenna twelve segmented, Weaver ants are one of the most valued types of insects eaten by humans. Weaver ants have the potential to control agricultural pests, as Oecophylla smaragdina is found in Australia, India, and South-East Asia.

Honey dew, silk, predators, nest,

" Weaver ants (Oecophylla smaragdina, Hymenoptera: Formicidae) as friends improving tree crops.", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.5, Issue 8, page no.286-290, August-2018, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2006380.pdf

" Weaver ants (Oecophylla smaragdina, Hymenoptera: Formicidae) as friends improving tree crops.", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.5, Issue 8, page no. pp286-290, August-2018, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2006380.pdf