It is a species of arboreal ant found in tropical Asia and Australia. These ants form colonies with multiple nests in trees, each nest being made of leaves stitched together using the silk produced by the ant larvae: hence the name ‘oecophylla’. Mostly seen in mango tree, guava, tamarind tree, etc. and is resistant to fungus and pests. Therefore, it considered to be a friend of farmers.

Systematic position  

• Domain : Eukaryota
• Kingdom : Animalia
• Phylum : Arthropoda
• Class : Insecta
• Order : Hymenoptera
• Family : Formicidae
• Subfamily : Formicinae
• Genus : Oecophylla
• Species : smaragdina