Green Tree Ant

Green Tree Ant, Oecophylla smaragdina

The Green Tree Ant is a very interesting, yet well-known species in Australia. They are found in forested areas of the continent from Queensland to the Northern Territory, to even parts of Western Australia. This species is a type of weaver ant, using excretions from larvae to weave leaves together for nesting and colonies. It is the only known species of weaver ant in Australia, with more found in parts of southern Asia and Africa. What makes this particular ant even more interesting is the role these ants play in bush tucker. The abdomen is known for a pleasant, lime taste and the larvae are often squished and mixed with water to form a drink similar to a limeade. On the other hand, these aggressive ants are known for their nasty bite as that citric acid is incorporated into their attack.

This particular photograph was taken in Townsville, Australia on a Cluster Fig, Ficus racemosa. Without going into too much detail on this post, the Cluster Fig has an interesting mutualistic relationship with a local parasitic wasp, Ceratosolen fusciceps, which can be a food source for the Green Tree Ant. A single wasp can be seen in the bottom right corner of this image.