Asian weaver ant, Oecophylla smaradigma is a nuisance species, effect the plantation employee due to their painful bites. The O. smaragdina was reported as one of the potential predators for the invasive bagworm species, Pteroma pendula in the oil palm plantation. Despite their important role in the plantation, however the study on the ecology and behaviour of the O. smaragdina is still lacking and not discovered. The objectives of this study were to investigate the relationships between the foraging daily activities of the O. smaragdina with the weather parameters. In 2018-2022, this study investigates the trunk foraging activity pattern of O. smaragdina colonies (9 days per colony) from selected plantations, as an effort of mitigation. In 2020-2022, a targeted field study was undertaken to examine the daily trunk foraging activities of major workers in relation to air temperature (AT), relative humidity (RH), air pressure (AP) and rainfall (RI). Ground forager behaviours were observed and examined from the trunk trail split covering an average frontal fluctuating angle from base palms. It is suggested that O. smaragdina is a diurnal ant species with much lesser crepuscular intensity. It is demonstrating similar daily foraging activity patterns featuring higher intensity during the warmest daily periods in relation to population size relative abundance. This was irrespective of the dry-wet seasons corresponding to low activity from late scoot-phase to early photo phase, exhibiting a bimodal foraging pattern. Throughout the overnight period, foraging activity ceased. O. smaragdina is a visual light dependent hunter for efficient intensive foraging. Active foragers reached peaks at around 1100 to 1530 hours, and from 1745 to 1845 hours. Between 1620 and 1650 hours, foragers demonstrated a two-fold daily decline in intensity on average. There was a strong positive correlation between foraging activity, AT and AP but negatively correlated with RH. Sustained RI stopped the trunk-ground trail activity of O. smaragdina, exposing outbound foragers withdrawing massively to the canopies. Defensive territorial layers are established from the base palm trunks reaching an average 5 m distance featuring two distinct spatial arrangements. Major workers trunk trails split into several new lines on an average 3 m radius showing higher foraging density. The trails broke off to expand into a web shape figure occupation reaching on average 5 m. The avoidance of forager relentless attacks can be achieved during the daily low activity periods (before 1000 hours) for pruning and harvesting tasks if the adoption of O. smaragdina is implemented to control the invasive Metisa plana bagworm species.
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