Oecophylla longinoda
Tailor Ants, or Weaver Ants, naturally inhabit humid forests, which limits their South African distribution to the northern coast of Kwazulu-Natal (where their unique nests are a common sight in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park). Beyond our borders they’re distributed throughout Africa’s equatorial regions.
A single colony of Tailor Ants usually have several nests within their territory, which they fiercely defend by injecting formic acid when biting assailants, be they other ants, birds or animals and even humans. These nests are constructed using silk produced by the larval ants to bind together living leaves. In one nest the queen, which produces about a hundred eggs per day, lives, while the other nests are used by the workers (which measure up to 11mm in length) to care for the young ants or – fascinatingly! – farm with scale insects. The ants subsist on the honeydew these scale insects secrete as well as on other insects they hunt in the trees or on the ground.
DeWetsWild 
Dis ook net jy wat van miere ‘n baie interessante storie kan maak! Ek sal maar my afstand hou, dink so ‘n mier-byt (so klein soos hulle is), kan nogal ‘n brandkol veroorsaak!
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Dankie vir die groot kompliment, Corna! Hierdie miere is nogal kwaaier as die gemiddeldes – net om die kamera naby aan te bring was genoeg om hulle op die aanval te laat gaan!
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I have read about, but not seen, these ants so appreciate your focus on them.
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I’m very glad I could showcase them, Anne. I find their life history fascinating.
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100 eggs a day? That’s a lot of the fearsome little devils! Glad I could view them from the comfort of my chair. 😉
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They’re so interesting I think I might forgive them an acidic bite or two… Easy to have a big mouth now I am 600km away from them! 😀
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True. 🙂
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Ants of any types are very interesting and extremely smart as a group, collective intelligent. There is a bullet ant in the Amazon Rainforest that if it stings you is comparable to being shot, very painful, here in Florida there are Fireants that sting you and inject formic acid, is like getting a lit match touching you. Great post, D.! 🙂
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Ouch!
They are fascinating animals indeed. No wonder they’re mentioned in scripture.
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This post’s photos are amazing! This is the first time I see these tailor (weaver) ants in action.
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You are very kind, Hien. Thank you.
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