Oecophylla derived from Latin words, oeco (meaning house or household) and phylla (plural for phyllum which means having leaves or leaflike parts) and smaragdina, also derived from Latin, meaning emerald.

And so, Oecophylla smaragdina, the emerald leafhouse ant.

Oecophylla species are among the most iconic tropical ants presenting the most sophisticated nest-building activities of all weaver ants. Workers draw leaves together, often forming long chains, and glue them together with larval silk.

And this was what Fabricius saw, emerald leafhouse ants.

Formica arenaria, firstly described in 1787 by Fabricius, nowadays known as Messor Arenarius, or the Dune Harvester Ant.

From the Latin Messor, meaning Harvester and Arenarius that translates as Sand.

These ants in particular are commonly encountered in more arid habitats like semi-deserts and deserts. They can be found distributed across the northern part of Africa and into the Middle East to countries such as Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Sudan Syria, Israel, Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

The Tropical Fire Ant (TFA), Solenopsis geminata (Fabricius) 1804, is native to South and Central America and has spread to many other parts of the world have become serious pests.

They build conspicuous earthen mounds, which are aggressively defended by the painful stinging of often great numbers of workers. They have a high reproductive rate, a high population density, an efficient dispersal behaviour, and wide geographical distribution.

These ants inhabit disturbed environments, often in areas of human habitat modification, and so, people are often forced to alter outdoor activities where fire ants are present. Fire ants can sting repeatedly. Symptoms of a fire ant sting include burning and itching. The ant injects venom containing an oily alkaloid called Solenopsin that is toxic to cells. It causes a white pustule to form in a day or two. Although the sting is not usually life threatening, they are easily infected and may leave permanent scars.

This nuisance will generally lower the tolerance of their presence among humans.

Ooceraea Biroi previously known as Cerapachys Biroi, from the Greek keras [κέρας], meaning horn and pachys [παχυς] meaning thick, the "thick-horn" ant.

Referring to the thick antennae of ants in this genus, possibly an adaptation against being severed when attacked by other ants. Biroi comes from Lajos Biró, the Hungarian naturalist who collected the type specimens.

Their common name is the clonal raider ants.

Odontoponera is one of the most widespread ponerine species, it's your typical Asian Ponerine.

Ponerine ants are one of the most fascinating subfamilies of ants you can keep, for they combine simple social organization with a high diversity of morphological, ecological and behavioral traits.

Anoplolepis gracilipes is commonly known by one of two names, the first and most common is the Yellow Crazy Ant and second but more scientifically correct is the Slender Leg Ant. The name crazy ant arises from its characteristic behavior that is to run erratically in rapid movements when disturbed, and the name slender leg comes from their long and thin stalky legs.

Harpegnathos, from the Greek word harpe, which refers to a curved weapon such as a sickle, and gnathos which refers to jaw. Hence the sickle jaw or curve blade jaw ant. But we normally call them Jumping Ants.

Jumping Ants belongs to the Ponerinae subfamily, which is notable for being different from other subfamilies of ants because they are considered to be more primitive, meaning they have more common characteristics with their wasp ancestors. They are also known for combining simple social organization with a high diversity of morphological and behavioral trait

Spiny ants belong to the Formicinae sub-family and the Polyrhachis genus. They are the far away cousins of our worldwide beloved Carpenter Ants.

Polyrhachis is a genus of formicine ants found in the Old World with over 600 species. The genus is yet to be fully understood and described because it is one of the most ecologically diverse ant genera in the world. It contains so many varied species which span so many different types of habitats including mangrove, soil and tree-dwellers.

They can be easily be identified due to the big spikes most workers showcase as a defensive mechanism against predators.

This is a Macau local species which is a very sought after species, especially as one of the first exotic Carpenter Ant species to have. Let’s learn more about them!