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Location and external characteristics of the Oecophylla smaragdina queen nest

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Abstract

The Asian weaver ant Oecophylla smaragdina is of importance to Southeast Asian livelihoods as a source of human food and animal feed and as biological control agent in tree crops including mango and citrus. The introduction of weaver ants in plantations requires the inclusion of the reproductive queen. We report on locating the gravid queen in a mature O. smaragdina colony in Laos. The queen tree could be identified by considering tree height and number of nests in the tree: no tree was taller and housed more nests than the queen tree. The queen nest was a small nest, located near the tree top and near the trunk, and with more workers patrolling its exterior than at other small nests in the queen tree. The queen nest can be highly inconspicuous in dense tree crowns. Queen nest identification was ascertained by tapping and shaking nests, supporting branches, or entire trees, which elicits queen evacuation with retinue.

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Acknowledgments

This study was conducted under an Agreement between the Department of Plant Sciences, Wageningen University, and the Faculty of Science, National University of Laos. Dr. Decha Wiwatwitaya, Kasetsart University, Thailand is thanked for identifying the ant species. Mr Vilakorn “Xang” Sanevongsiya is thanked for his excellent assistance in the field and laboratory. The anonymous reviewers and the editors are kindly thanked for their constructive comments which improved the manuscript.

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There is no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Entomology, Department of Plant Sciences, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    J. Van Itterbeeck & A. van Huis

  2. Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, National University of Laos, Ban Dongdok, PO Box 7322, Vientiane, Lao People’s Democratic Republic

    N. Sivongxay & B. Praxaysombath

Authors
  1. J. Van Itterbeeck
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  2. N. Sivongxay
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  3. B. Praxaysombath
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  4. A. van Huis
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Correspondence to J. Van Itterbeeck.

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Van Itterbeeck, J., Sivongxay, N., Praxaysombath, B. et al. Location and external characteristics of the Oecophylla smaragdina queen nest. Insect. Soc. 62, 351–356 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-015-0411-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-015-0411-9

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