Oecophylla smaragdina Fabricius Weaver Ant

Abstract

Oecophylla smaragdina is a species of arboreal ant that makes nests in trees, made of leaves stitched together using the silk produced by their larvae. Weaver ants are edible for humans and high in protein and fatty acids. The total lipid content range was 6.3%–15.2%, and the major lipid components were triacylglycerol 37.4%–79.4%, followed by phospholipids 6.1%–21.5%. Sterols are 0.5%–0.8% as the minor components and oleic acid was the most predominant fatty acid. The ants contain high level of acidic amino acids and few glycine residues. Ant eggs contain three lectins. All the lectins were found to be composed of four subunits of unequal sizes, and are glycoproteins.