Polyrhachis thrinax (Red Asian Weaver Ants)

Polyrhachis thrinax (Red Asian Weaver Ants)

A small yet vibrant, orange-red species of weaver ant found in the depths of tropical rainforests in South East Asia. Unlike other weaver ants, this species tends to nest close to the ground - mainly within tree bark crevices or under young, pliable leaves found in low -lying shrubs.  

Mature colonies often do not grow more than a few hundred individuals in size. Therefore, communities do not require very large setups as workers are around 3-4 mm in size whereas queens are 6-7mm. 

Polyrhachis thrinax are mainly nocturnal and as such, foraging behaviours are often best observed in the evenings/night. Setups would benefit from red spectrum lighting which would enable the keeper to observe these ants well, without disturbing them too much.

When threatened, colonies will often send out large numbers of workers which will ward off any predators or attackers through their collective tapping of surfaces (i.e. leaves). As they do this, they suddenly become a much larger threat to the unaware intruder. 

P.thrinax do well in Acrylic based setups or even better, in bio-active setups which mimic their natural environments. As many tropical species of ants, temepratures should fall between 24-27C for optimum growth and a humidity level of 50-70% with good ventilation.

It is illegal and strictly frowned upon to release any non-native ants into the wild.