Common name : Amazon tree ant
Scientific name : Allomerus decemarticulatus
Family : Formicidae
Native to : South America
Interesting fact : The tree ants are known for their predatory behaviour whereby they catch and immobilize their prey mostly alone, and then release pheromones to signal the others.
While the worker ants are about 2 mm in length, the queen tree ant is almost double their size. The queen ants live and hunt on the host plant, within ‘leaf pockets’ which are areas inside the plant between the leaf and the stem. Their diet is comprised of other insects, which they capture, nectar as well as food created by the plant. They use the fungus that grows on the plants to create traps for larger insects.
