Golden Sea Restaurant 黄金海岸

Golden Sea Restaurant 黄金海岸

Lot 13045, Batu 29 1/2,|Kanchong Laut, (Morib),Banting42700,Malaysia

012-331-7353

Golden Sea Restaurant

The menu board

The sitting.

You can choose either the hut or the one without.

you can even sit the swing while waiting!

Coconut! whoots!

The vege.

Lala... whoots!

Kam Heong Crab!

The nice seaside!

Weaver ant

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weaver_ant

"Green ant" redirects here. For the Australian green-head ant, seeGreen-head ant.

Weaver ant (Oecophylla smaragdina) major worker (India).
Weaver ant (Oecophylla longinoda) major worker (Tanzania)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: / Animalia
Phylum: / Arthropoda
Class: / Insecta
Order: / Hymenoptera
Family: / Formicidae
Subfamily: / Formicinae
Tribe: / Oecophyllini
Emery, 1895
Genus: / Oecophylla
Smith, 1860
Type species
Formica virescens(junior synonym of Oecophylla smaragdina)
Diversity[1]
2 extant species
13 extinct species
Oecophyllarange map.
Oecophylla longinodain blue,Oecophylla smaragdinain red.[2]

Weaver antsorgreen ants(genusOecophylla) areeusocialinsectsof the familyFormicidae(order Hymenoptera). Weaver ants are obligatelyarborealand are known for their unique nest building behaviour where workers construct nests by weaving together leaves using larvalsilk.[3]Colonies can be extremely large consisting of more than a hundred nests spanning numerous trees and contain more than half a million workers. Like many other ant species, weaver ants prey on small insects and supplement their diet with carbohydrate-richhoney dew excreted by small insects (Hemiptera).Oecophyllaworkers exhibit a clearbimodalsize distribution, with almost no overlap between the size of the minor and major workers.[4][5]The major workers are approximately 8–10mm (0.31–0.39in) in length and the minors approximately half the length of the majors. There is a division of labour associated with the size difference between workers. Major workers forage, defend, maintain, and expand the colony whereas minor workers tend to stay within the nests where they care for thebroodand 'milk'scale insectsin or close to the nests.Oecophylla weaver ants vary in color from reddish to yellowish brown dependent on the species.Oecophylla smaragdinafound in Australia often have bright greengasters. These ants are highly territorial and workers aggressively defend their territories against intruders. Because of their aggressive behaviour, weaver ants are sometime used by indigenous farmers, particularly in southeast Asia, as natural biocontrol agents against agricultural pests. Although Oecophyllaweaver ants lack a functional sting they can inflict painful bites and often sprayformic acid[6][7]directly at the bite wound resulting in intense discomfort.

Contents

·  1Species

·  2Taxonomy

·  3Colony ontogeny and social organization

·  4Nest building behaviour

·  5Relationship with humans

o  5.1In agriculture

o  5.2As food and medicine

·  6 See also

·  7 References

·  8 Selected bibliography

·  9 External links

Species

Extant species:

·  Oecophylla longinoda (Latreille, 1802)

·  Oecophylla smaragdina (Fabricius, 1775)

Extinct species:

·  †Oecophylla atavinaCockerell, 1915

·  †Oecophylla bartonianaCockerell, 1920

·  †Oecophylla brischkeiMayr, 1868

·  †Oecophylla crassinodaWheeler, 1922

·  †Oecophylla eckfeldianaDlussky, Wappler & Wedmann, 2008

·  †Oecophylla grandimandibulaRiou, 1999

·  †Oecophylla leakeyiWilson & Taylor, 1964

·  †Oecophylla longicepsDlussky, Wappler & Wedmann, 2008

·  †Oecophylla megarcheCockerell, 1915

·  †Oecophylla obesa(Heer, 1849)

·  †Oecophylla praeclaraFörster, 1891

·  †Oecophylla siculaEmery, 1891

·  †Oecophylla superbaThéobald, 1937

Taxonomy

Liquid food exchange (trophallaxis) inO. smaragdina

The weaver ants belong to the ant genusOecophylla(subfamily Formicinae) which contains two closely related living species:O. longinodafound inSub-Saharan AfricaandO. smaragdinafound in southernIndia, southeastAsia, andAustralia.[8][9]They are provisionally placed in a tribeof their own,Oecophyllini. The weaver ant genusOecophyllais relatively old, and 15 fossil species have been found from the Eocene to Miocene deposits.[2][10]Two other genera of weaving ants,PolyrhachisandDendromyrmex, also use larval silk in nest construction, but the construction and architecture of their nests are simpler than those ofOecophylla.[3]In Australia,Oecophylla smaragdinais found in the tropical coastal areas as far south as Rockhampton and across the coastal tropics of the Northern Territory down to Broome in West Australia.[citation needed]

TwoO. smaragdinatransferring food to their colony

The common features of the genus include an elongated first funicular segment, presence of propodeal lobes, helcium at midheight of abdominal segment 3 and gaster capable of reflexion over the mesosoma. Males havevestigialpretarsal claws.[11]

Colony ontogeny and social organization

Weaver ants collaborating to pull nest leaves together

Weaver ant colonies are founded by one or more mated females (queens).[12]A queen lays her first clutch ofeggs on a leaf and protects and feeds the larvae until they develop into mature workers. The workers then construct leaf nests and help rear new brood laid by the queen. As the number of workers increases, more nests are constructed and colony productivity and growth increase significantly. Workers perform tasks that are essential to colony survival, including foraging, nest construction, and colony defense. The exchange of information and modulation of worker behaviour that occur during worker-worker interactions are facilitated by the use of chemical and tactile communication signals. These signals are used primarily in the contexts of foraging and colony defense. Successful foragers lay down pheromone trails that help recruit other workers to new food sources. Pheromone trails are also used by patrollers to recruit workers against territorial intruders. Along with chemical signals, workers also use tactile communication signals such as attenation and body shaking to stimulate activity in signal recipients. Multimodal communication inOecophyllaweaver ants importantly contributes to colonyself-organization.[13][14]Like many other ant species,Oecophyllaworkers exhibit social carrying behavior as part of the recruitment process, in which one worker will carry another worker in its mandibles and transport it to a location requiring attention.[citation needed]

Nest building behaviour

Weaver ant nest on amangotree

Oecophyllaweaver ants are known for their cooperative behaviour used in nest construction. Possibly the first description of weaver ant's nest building behaviour was made by the English naturalistJoseph Banks, who took part in Captain James Cook's voyage toAustraliain 1768. An excerpt from Joseph Banks'Journal(cited in Hölldobler and Wilson 1990) is included below:

The ants...one green as a leaf, and living upon 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 paperish substances which held them firmly together. In doing this their management was most curious: they bend down four leaves broader than a man's hand, and place them in such a direction as they choose. This requires a much larger force than these animals seem capable of; many thousands indeed are employed in the joint work. I have seen as many as could stand by one another, holding down such a leaf, each drawing down with all his might, while others within were employed to fasten the glue. How they had bent it down I had not the opportunity of seeing, but it was held down by main strength, I easily proved by disturbing a part of them, on which the leaf bursting from the rest, returned to its natural situation, and I had an opportunity of trying with my finger the strength of these little animals must have used to get it down.[3]

The weaver ant's ability to build capacious nests from living leaves has undeniably contributed to their ecological success. The first phase in nest construction involves workers surveying potential nesting leaves by pulling on the edges with their mandibles. When a few ants have successfully bent a leaf onto itself or drawn its edge toward another, other workers nearby join the effort. Theprobabilityof a worker joining the concerted effort is dependent on the size of the group, with workers showing a higher probability of joining when group size is large.[15]When the span between two leaves is beyond the reach of a single ant, workers form chains with their bodies by grasping one another'spetiole(waist). Multiple intricate chains working in unison are often used to ratchet together large leaves during nest construction. Once the edges of the leaves are drawn together, other workers retrievelarvaefrom existing nests using their mandibles. Upon reaching a seam to be joined, these workers tap the head of the clutchedlarvae, which causes them to excretesilk. They can only produce so much silk, so the larva will have to pupate without a cocoon. The workers then maneuver between the leaves in a highly coordinated fashion to bind them together.[3]Weaver ant's nests are usuallyellipticalin shape and range in size from a single small leaf folded and bound onto itself to large nests consisting of many leaves and measure over half a meter in length. The time required to construct a nest varies depending on leaf type and eventual size, but often a large nest can be built in significantly less than 24 hours. Although weaver ant's nests are strong and impermeable to water, new nests are continually being built by workers in large colonies to replace old dying nests and those damaged by storms.[16]

Relationship with humans

In agriculture

O. smaragdinatending scale insects

Large colonies ofOecophyllaweaver ants consume significant amounts of food, and workers continuously kill a variety ofarthropods(primarily otherinsects) close to their nests. Insects are not only consumed by workers, but thisproteinsource is necessary for brood development. Because weaver ant workers hunt and kill insects that are potentially harmful plant pests, trees harboring weaver ants benefit from having decreased levels ofherbivory.[17]They have traditionally been used in biological control in Chinese and Southeast Asian citrus orchards from at least 400 AD.[18][19]Many studies have shown the efficacy of using weaver ants as natural biocontrol agents against agricultural pests.[20]The use of weaver ants as biocontrol agents has especially been effective for fruit agriculture, particularly inAustraliaandsoutheast Asia.[21][22]Fruit trees harboring weaver ants produce higher qualityfruits, show less leaf damage byherbivores, and require fewer applications of syntheticpesticides.[22][23]In several cases have the use of weaver ants been shown to be more efficient than applying chemical insecticides and at the same time cheaper, leaving farmers with increased net incomes and more sustainable pest control.[24]

Weaver ant husbandry is often practiced in Southeast Asia, where farmers provide shelter, food and construct ropes between trees populated with weaver ants in order to protect their colonies from potential competitors.[25]

Oecophyllacolonies may not be entirely beneficial to the host plants. Studies indicate that the presence ofOecophyllacolonies may also have negative effects on the performance of host plants by reducing fruit removal by mammals and birds and therefore reducing seed dispersal and by lowering the flower-visiting rate of flying insects including pollinators.[26][27]Weaver ants also have an adverse effect on tree productivity by protecting sap feeding insects such asscale insectsandleafhoppersfrom which they collecthoneydew.[27][28]By protecting these insects from predators they increase their population and increase the damage they cause to trees.[29]

As food and medicine

Leaf packets of larvae inIsaan typically sell for about 20 Thai Baht each (about 0.65 USD)

Weaver ants are one of the most valued types of insects eaten by humans (entomophagy). In addition to being used as a biological control agent to increase plant production, weaver ants can be utilized directly as a protein and food source since the ants (especially the ant larvae) are edible for humans and high in protein and fatty acids.[30]In some countries the weaver ant is a highly prized delicacy harvested in vast amounts and in this way contributing to local socioeconomics.[31]In Northeastern Thailand the price of weaver ant larvae is twice the price of good quality beef and in a single Thai province ant larvae worth 620.000 USD are harvested every year.[32][33]It has furthermore been shown that the harvest of weaver ants can be maintained while at the same time using the ants for biocontrol of pest insects in tropical plantations, since the queen larvae and pupae that are the primary target of harvest, are not vital for colony survival.[34]

The larvae of weaver ants are also collected commercially as an expensive feed for insect eating birds in Indonesia and the worker ants are used in traditional medicine in e.g. India and China.[35][36]

See also

·  Polyrhachis, other ants that weave nests (though less complex)

·  Where the Green Ants Dream, a 1984 film directed byWerner Herzog

·  Myrmarachne plataleoides, a spider that mimics the weaver ant

·  List of animals that produce silk

·  List of Thai ingredients

·  Nanfang Caomu Zhuang, earliest Chinese record ofO. smaragdina"citrus ants" protecting orange crops

References

1.  Jump up^Bolton, B.(2015)."Oecophylla".AntCat. Retrieved30 January2015.

2.  ^Jump up to:abDlussky, G.M.; Wappler, T.; Wedmann, S. (2008)."New middle Eocene formicid species from Germany and the evolution of weaver ants".Acta Palaeontologica Polonica53(4): 615–626.doi:10.4202/app.2008.0406.

3.  ^Jump up to:abcdHölldober, B. & Wilson, E.O. 1990.The ants. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.

4.  Jump up^Weber, NA (1946)."Dimorphism in the AfricanOecophyllaworker and an anomaly (Hym.: Formicidae)"(PDF).Annals of the Entomological Society of America39: 7–10.

5.  Jump up^Wilson,Edward O., and Robert W. Taylor (1964)."A fossil ant colony: new evidence of social antiquity"(PDF).Psyche71(2): 93–103.doi:10.1155/1964/17612.

6.  Jump up^J. W. S. Bradshaw, R. Baker, P. E. Howse (1979) Chemical composition of the poison apparatus secretions of the African weaver ant,Oecophylla longinoda, and their role in behaviour. Physiological Entomology 4(1), 39–46doi:10.1111/j.1365-3032.1979.tb00175.x

7.  Jump up^N. Peerzada, T. Pakkiyaretnam and S. Renaud. Volatile constituents of the green antOecophylla smaragdina. Agric. Biol. Chem., 54 (12), 3335-3336, 1990[1]

8.  Jump up^Tree of Life Web Project. 2004. Oecophylla

9.  Jump up^Ant Web. 2008. Search Oecophylla

10.  Jump up^Azuma, N., Kikuchi, T., Ogata, K. & Higashi, S. 2002. Molecular phylogeny among local populations of weaver antOecophylla smaragdina. Zoological Science 19:1321-1328.

11.  Jump up^Bolton, B. 2003. Synopsis and Classification of Formicidae. 370 pp. Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute, Vol. 71. Gainesville, FL.

12.  Jump up^RK Peng, K Christian, K Gibb (1998) How many queens are there in mature colonies of the green ant,Oecophylla smaragdina(Fabricius)? Australian Journal of Entomology 37 (3) , 249–253doi:10.1111/j.1440-6055.1998.tb01579.x

13.  Jump up^Hölldobler, B. 1999. Multimodal signals in ant communication. J Comp Physiol A 184:129-141.

14.  Jump up^Hölldobler, B. 1983. Territorial behavior in the green tree ant (Oecophylla smaragdina). Biotropica 15:241-250.

15.  Jump up^Deneubourg, J.L., Lioni, A. & Detrain, C. 2002. Dynamics of aggregation and emergence of cooperation. Biological Bulletin 202:262-267.

16.  Jump up^Offenberg J. 2014. The use of artificial nests by weaver ants: A preliminary field observation. Asian Myrmecology 6: 119-128[2]