First Report on Asian Weaver Ant Oecophylla smaragdina Fabricius, 1775 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) at Lal Bahadur Shastri Mahavidyalaya, Dharmabad, Nanded, Maharashtra, India

The foraging habits of red weaver ants are remarkably affected by various environmental factors such as weather, humidity, luminosity, rainfall. These ants show nocturnal foraging behavior; so they are mostly active at night time so typically weaver ant nests are built at night time. The present research was undertaken to assess the diversity of Asian Weaver ants in the campus of Lal Bahadur Shastri Mahavidyalaya, Dharmabad, Nanded, Maharashtra, India. A systematic survey was conducted at various sites in the campus from August 2025 to March 2026. A total of 70 nests from 20 trees were recorded during the study period. The Red weaver ant is mainly arboreal which lives on trees. Asian weaver ants are colonial insects belonging to the family Formicidae. The red weaver ant has a unique reddish brown color. The Asian weaver ants are popular for distinctive nest building behavior, medicinal importance, nutritive food for local community, natural biocontrol agent, has commercial value, maintains ecological balance and farmer friendly. Weaver ants are used as a medico-food in certain tribal communities in India, such as in the states of Odisha, Keralam, Tamilnadu, Chhattisgarh, and Assam. This research article put forward a quick outline about weaver ant nest structure, arrangement and its maintenance. We have found 20 weaver ant nests inhibiting a single tree. We studied several biotic and abiotic factors affecting nest structure. Our research work suggests the nest selection site is typically governed by tree attributes, leaf features and certain environmental agents. The abundance of Asian weaver ants in the campus exhibits its habitat predominance among insect species.